


Their Seven Fake (?) Dates

by bellpickle



Category: DCU, DCU (Animated), Nightwing (Comics), Teen Titans - All Media Types, The Flash (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Birdflash - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-20
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-04-16 06:06:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4614069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellpickle/pseuds/bellpickle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wally realizes rather belatedly that his roommate Dick Grayson is, in the words of their school's female population, "hot as hell." He goes to extreme lengths to find out why and ends up kind of, sort of dating his best friend for a week.</p><p>What could go wrong?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In which Wally realizes that Dick is a "stud"

“It’s gotta be Dick.”

“Definitely.”

“Hate to admit it, but our amigo _is_ one suave dude.”

Wally glanced around the cafeteria table, studying his friends’ faces for even a hint of irony. He found none, but forced a laugh anyway. “Yeah yeah, good one, guys. But really, who do girls think is the biggest stud on campus? I mean, I guess Conner would be the obvious choice….”

Raquel rolled her eyes. “Yeah, _maybe_ back when we were still in high school and being moody was cool and mysterious," she said, jabbing at the air with her fork for emphasis, "But older girls prefer guys who are a little more … refined.” When her words were met with a blank stare from Wally, Raquel let out a drawn out sigh and continued, “You know, someone who’s charming and fun, but also mature and intelligent?”

“Someone like Dick,” Barbara said with a smile, her cheeks tinged a light shade of pink.

Wally couldn’t help but laugh, this time for real. “Refined? This is the guy who’s been making the same syntax jokes every day for the past five years! If that’s your definition of refined, then wow, I must _really_ not understand women.”

“No surprises there,” Raquel said with a smirk. Wally poked his tongue out at her in defiance.

Jaime slapped Wally on the back in an attempt to cheer him up, though all it did was make Wally cough out some of the mashed potato he had eaten for lunch. “C’mon, Wally. You’ve been best buds with Dick since you two were kids. You’ve got to have noticed the appeal? He’s the guy that all the dudes want to hang out with and all the chicas want to date.”

“Yeah, we’re _friends_ , but it’s not like I sit around contemplating his date-ability.” Wally crossed his arms, a frown still fixed on his face. The whole conversation was making him feel extremely uncomfortable and he wasn’t entirely sure why.

“Believe it or not, Wally, that’s what the girls think,” Barbara said. “You just can’t tell because you two have been friends for so long.”

“Exactly. You two don’t see each other right anymore.” Raquel stood up and picked up her tray, the other two following suit. “This has been fun and all, but we’ve gotta head to Soc class.”

“Wait a minute,” Wally said with sudden urgency as an idea popped into his mind. “If girls think Dick is a stud or whatever, do girls like _me_ too?”

His three friends froze at once, seemingly rooted in place. Barbara was the first to break the silence, very carefully replying, “You’re a really, really sweet guy. And you’re definitely not _bad_ looking…”

Wally could physically feel his heart sinking to the pit of his stomach, his confidence dive-bombing along with it.

“Look, all we’re saying is that your homeboy is a hottie. Okay? Okay.” Before anyone could get another word in, Raquel, Barbara, and Jamie all dashed away at once, leaving Wally alone at the table.

Wally stared at the now-empty chairs surrounding him, allowing the incredulousness to fully sink in. Were they talking about the same Dick Grayson he was? The criminology nerd who sometimes spent whole nights poring over old detective novels for fun? The walking encyclopedia who knew ten different ways to create an electric current using bathroom supplies and old wire?

Sure, Dick never seemed to have trouble finding a girlfriend, but he also rarely stayed in relationships long enough for it to matter. How could any girl think of Dick Grayson— _that_ Dick Grayson—as a stud?

And most annoyingly of all: why didn’t girls think of _him_ as a stud as well? Wally had had attractive girlfriends in the past too! And he and Dick were figuratively joined at the hip—hell, they were practically the same person! Surely some of his best friend’s supposed hotness should have rubbed off on him?

“If you’re gonna scowl like that, at least do it in private. The whole sadface thing ruins your appeal.”

Wally jumped as the person addressing him stepped into his field of vision. _Speak of the devil_ , Wally thought. “What’re you doing over on this side of campus? Aren’t you supposed to be in the PoliSci building?”

“Class got moved next door. I have a few extra minutes to spare, so of course I couldn’t resist seeing this handsome mug.” Dick accentuated the statement by lightly patting Wally’s cheek with the back of his hand.

Mustering all the false bravado he could, Wally shrugged nonchalantly and said with a wry smile, “What can I say? I’m a charmer.”

Dick laughed the same way he always did at each one of his lame jokes, but this time, the sound of it caused a sweet, heady sensation to blossom in Wally’s chest. He frowned. The hell was that?

Before Wally could mull over it for too long, he noticed Dick grab an apple from the fruit bowl at the center of the table. “Looks like I’ll get lunch after all.”

“A piece of fruit for a meal? Dude. How are you even alive?”

Dick just grinned in response before taking his first big bite out of the apple. Between chews, he managed to say, “No time. Can’t be late. I’ll manage.”

Feeling concerned, Wally rummaged through the bottom of his backpack before retrieving a crumpled rectangular package and tossing it over to his friend. “At least scarf down that energy bar before class, you crazy kid.”

Dick was already half-running to the door. He waved back at Wally and said, with a mouth full of fruit, “Wif do, pal. Hanks!”

As Dick made his hurried exit, Wally noticed a table full of girls eyeing his friend and giggling nervously as he ran past them. Wally just sighed, resting his chin on a propped hand. “I really don’t get it.”

* * *

 “You know, if I really tried, I could probably walk like this for at least a half hour straight.” Dick demonstrated by traveling from one end of their shared bedroom to the other, his body positioned in a perfect handstand.

From the comfort of his bed, Wally lazily glanced up as he pushed his textbook aside. In the back of his mind, he noted the way Dick’s shirt slipped down and pooled at his chest, revealing his sculpted abdomen. Gymnastics had done wonders for the man. “You know, if you’re trying to wow me with your athletic prowess, you’re gonna have to do way better than that.”

“T’ch. Tough crowd.” Dick gracefully righted himself, his feet landing on their carpeted floor with a soft thud.

Wally continued eyeing his roommate as he rather _un_ -gracefully plopped onto the beanbag chair sitting in the gap between their two beds. Dick yawned loudly and languidly stretched his whole body, nearly flattening the beanbag in the process. He paused when he noticed Wally studying him. “What?”

Wally tilted his head in curiosity. “Just thinking.”

“…About?”

Wally paused for a long moment before carefully replying, “Whatever happened to that girl you were seeing? Cassie?”

Dick blinked in surprise at the sudden change in topic before smiling sheepishly. “Ah. Yeah, we called it quits a while back. It was more of a fling than anything, I guess.” He shrugged casually before asking, “Why?”

Wally just responded by silently crossing his arms. He rolled to his side, his bottom lip poking out in a pout. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that his friends had been right. Girls went gaga for his best friend. Sure, it was bewildering, but he would’ve thought he’d be happy for his friend. Instead, he had spent the whole evening moping.

“Uhh, Wally? You okay, bud?”

Wally peeked up to see his friend now hovering over him, a worried crease on his brow. “You’ve been acting kinda weird all night. Do you feel sick or something?” Dick reached out to press his palm against his forehead, but Wally reflexively cringed before their skin could make contact.

Dick retracted his hand as an odd, uncertain expression spread across his features. “Okay, seriously. What is going on with you? Because I’m starting to feel some antipathy here—major emphasis on the anti.”

Wally let slip an amused snort. And they called _him_ a dork. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just in a weird mood. No anti intended.”

“Anything I can do to help?” Without warning, Dick tumbled onto the bed with him, curling up into a ball and resting his back along the curve of Wally’s hip.

Wally shifted until he could comfortably look his friend in the face. He felt like there was something about this whole situation that he was just … not getting. Something important.

“I know I’m dazzling, but try not to stare for too long,” Dick joked. His easygoing smile faltered when Wally failed to respond to his comment.

Wally could feel some idea forming in his mind. Before he could fully process what he was thinking, the words had already tumbled from his mouth. “Let’s go out.”

Dick raised a brow in amusement. “Go out? Where? It’s midnight. On a Tuesday.”

“No, I mean _out_ out. Like on a date.”

Dick just stared for a long while, his eyes growing larger by the second. Then all at once, he erupted into a boisterous, slightly strained laugh. “Yeah, sure, buddy. I’ll buy the flowers and chocolates. But don’t expect me to sleep over after just one date—I’m not that kind of girl, okay?”

Dick laughed once more, setting Wally even more on edge. He wriggled out from underneath Dick and scooted to the head of the mattress, defensively curling into a ball. Through gritted teeth, he managed to say, “Just one week. That’s all I’ll need.”

The other man sobered up immediately upon hearing his reply. “You can’t be serious?”

Wally stared off to the side and chewed his bottom lip. He could feel heat rushing to his cheeks, which only added to his nervousness. “I don’t mean, like, real actual dates between … boyfriends or whatever. I guess I’m just curious about what all these girls see in you. I’m thinking I could learn something from it?”

Wally could feel his blush getting even worse. Dear God. Why was this happening? What was this mystical force that had taken control of his voice and what were its intentions?

Wally refused to look his friend in the eye, so he couldn’t read his expression. But he could tell from his voice alone that he clearly thought Wally was losing his mind. “You do know there are plenty of other, _saner_ methods of doing that, right? Seriously man, did you hit your head?”

“My head is fine,” Wally muttered, an irritated edge to his voice, “And I don’t get why you’re freaking out so much. This would hardly be your first time with a guy, anyway.”

Wally gasped as he felt Dick suddenly jerk him by the shoulder, forcing him to meet his eyes. His mouth was set in a hard line, his brows furrowed in anger. “Wally, quit it. This isn’t funny.”

“You’re absolutely right, Dick. In fact, this might just win the award for Worst Idea Ever Conceived. Forget I said anything,” was what Wally wanted to say. Instead, what came out of his mouth was, “Do I look like I’m joking? It’s just a week. Even your ‘flings’ last longer than that. No biggie, right?”

Dick spent a long while half-staring, half-glaring at him from across the bed. Finally, he replied in a taut voice, “Assuming that I go along with this … this thing. If we aren’t _really_ dating, then how is it any different from hanging out like we regularly do?”

“It's completely different. Even if they’re not real dates, at least act like they are.”

“So you want me to flirt with you?”

“No!" Wally reflexively responded. Then after a pause, he said, "Maybe? I don't know! Just ... just act the same way you do around the people you date for real.” Wally felt sweat begin to bead at his temples. Why were the two of them taking all this so seriously? “If it helps, you could imagine I’m someone else…”

Wally could feel his heart pounding wildly in his chest, as though attempting to flee. A feeling that he could very much sympathize with at the moment.

He nearly jumped in nervousness when Dick suddenly stood from the bed, a heavy sigh passing his lips. “You’re one crazy bastard, Walls.”

Wally nodded dumbly. “Can’t say I disagree.”

The corner of Dick’s mouth curved slightly, though it disappeared just as quickly. He slumped back to his own bed, rubbing his eyes with his palms as he laid onto the mattress. “Look. If you still want to go through with this in the morning … then fine. Let’s do it.”

Wally’s jaw dropped. After all the protests, he was expecting a flat rejection. “Seriously?”

“Yup. Get ready cause I’m about to charm your pants off.” After a pause, Dick added, “Not literally.”

Wally smiled, feeling oddly relieved. For a minute, he thought he had seriously pissed off his best friend. “Thanks, man. You really are the greatest.”

“Damn straight.”

The two of them failed to say anything else to one another for the rest of the night. And it wasn’t until after lights out that the anxiety truly set in for Wally. Veiled by the darkness, he laid ramrod straight in bed, staring up at the ceiling in a panic. What the fuck had he gotten himself into?


	2. In which Dick indulges Wally's superhuman capacity for eating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tortured Author's Note #1: I've been eating, sleeping, and breathing Birdflash these past few days. Someone save me from this pairing.

Wally worried his bottom lip as he stared at the text message alert flashing on his phone. He instantly felt a deep, imminent sense of dread when he read the name of the message sender.

Dick had already headed out for the day when he woke up, so they hadn’t had a chance to talk since Wally had made his … proposition the night before. As a result, Wally had spent the whole morning in a state of paranoia, freaking out whenever anyone so much as greeted him hello for fear that it was Dick finally confronting him about their late night conversation.

He was now holed up in a lonely corner of the library working on his physics lab report, which he had managed to write exactly one sentence of before his phone buzzed.

> **Ya Boi Big D**
> 
> You still wanna do this?

It was the exact same question that had kept Wally up for hours the night before. The two of them had to be crazy to seriously consider this half-baked idea. But if Dick was willing to go through with it … then what did he really have to lose?

With slightly shaky fingers, he typed y-e-s into the reply box and paused, his thumb hovering hesitantly over the screen. “Here goes nothing,” he muttered to himself before tapping Send.

A minute later, he got a response that simply stated: “Meet me in front of the student union at six. Don’t eat beforehand.”

Wally smiled, feeling some of the tension leave his stiffened body. Free dinner? Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

* * *

Wally felt his jaw drop the moment he spotted Dick pacing near their designated meeting spot. Classes had just ended and campus crowds were at peak density, but even amongst the swarm of students, Dick completely stood out. Wally noted that even random passersby were eyeing him with interest.

The man looked good. _Damn_ good.

The grey button-up vest hugging Dick’s chest was made of some smooth, clearly expensive material that Wally didn’t even attempt to identify, contrasting nicely against the rolled-up sleeves of the white dress shirt beneath it. Not to mention the charcoal denim jeans, which fit rather snug around the curves of his legs.

Their eyes met right before Wally’s staring had the chance to turn into full-blown ogling, and the two half-jogged to close the gap between them. “Yo,” Wally said once they were within hearing distance, “What’s up with the nice duds? Did Alfred dress you today?”

“Please,” Dick replied in a mock-offended tone, a smirk gracing his lips, “This _is_ a date, isn’t it? I dress to impress.” His smirk grew slightly wider as he gave Wally a once over. “ _Un_ like a certain someone.”

Wally shyly ducked his head, feeling suddenly self-conscious of his baggy jeans and pullover hoodie. “Uhh, whoops? Didn’t get the memo, I guess.”

“You have much to learn, young grasshopper. In the meantime, appreciate this while you can.” Dick dramatically ran a hand through his carefully coiffed hair. “It ain’t easy to look this good.”

Wally rolled his eyes so hard they almost spun a second time. “Uh huh,” he said in the most deadpan voice he could manage, “I feel totally whelmed with gratitude right now.”

“You better. And please tell me you listened to my text and _didn’t_ grab something to eat before meeting me?”

“Dude, do you even have to ask? I’m so hungry that I could break the bank with the amount of food I plan to get.”

With a laugh, Dick replied, “Sorry Walls, but even your eating habits won’t be enough to burn a hole through _my_ wallet.”

With Dick leading the way, the two of them walked past the expansive green lawns of their campus to the bustling city streets beyond, dodging rush hour traffic on both the roads and the sidewalks as they traveled to their destination.

“So which restaurant are we going to, anyway?”

“Not telling,” Dick said with a sly smile. “You’ll find out in a minute. We’re almost there.”

It was then that Wally noticed the amount of families and young kids heading in the same direction as them. When they turned a corner, he glimpsed the top of a ferris wheel, most of it obstructed by the tall buildings surrounding them. Eyes wide, Wally ran a little ways ahead of Dick, until the ferris wheel was in full view.

Game booths and food stalls lined the brightly lit street, the cheery lanterns melting with the warm orange glow of the sunset sky. The smell of freshly buttered popcorn hung thick in the air, prompting an eager growl from his stomach.

“There’s a pop up restaurant at this carnival that practically has your name written all over it,” Dick said as he approached him from behind. “But if you’d rather drown yourself in corndogs and funnel cakes … well, I won’t stop you.”

Wally half-turned towards his friend, grinning from ear-to-ear. “Restaurant first. Funnel cakes later.”

Upon stepping through the restaurant entrance, the pair was immediately awash in the scent of cured meats, the aroma lingering even as they took their places at their table. Wally felt like an overly-excited puppy, staring and salivating at all the food platters the waiters carried to and fro.

In comparison, Dick was unusually quiet and subdued. In fact, once Wally thought about it, he realized Dick hadn’t said much of anything since they left campus and had mostly only spoken when prompted to.

Dick was currently absent-mindedly staring off into space, impatiently tapping his foot on the tiled floor as they waited for the food. Wally’s eyes zeroed in on the napkin in Dick’s hands, which he had fidgeted with so much that it now resembled a knot.

“Hey,” Wally said, his brow cocked in curiosity, “You aren’t … nervous, are you??”

Dick seemed to pale for a second, though his face relaxed before Wally had time to process it. “No,” he responded a little too quickly, “Why would I be nervous?”

“I dunno, man, but you aren’t talking. Like, at all. Are you normally this quiet on dates?”

Dick shrugged, his fingers twisting the napkin into an even tighter knot. “No, but it’s not like the normal icebreaker stuff is gonna work on you. We already know everything about each other.”

“That’s true, I guess,” Wally replied with a frown. His frown deepened as a (relatively repressed) memory surfaced to the forefront of his thoughts. Cautiously, he asked, “Umm, Dick? How about that time when you were … you know, _with_ Roy? What kind of stuff did you guys talk about when you were going out?”

Dick froze, looking suddenly and distinctly uncomfortable. He cleared his throat. “Err, we were seeing each other, but we didn’t exactly go on dates…”

“Then what did you guys do?” Wally asked, genuinely confused.

Before Dick had the chance to answer his question, their waiter finally arrived bearing an entire cartful of various meats, breads, and cheeses—the food wholly and permanently distracting Wally from their conversation.

“Amazing,” Dick said as he watched half the plates empty in the blink of an eye. “If smorgasbords were an Olympic event, you could eat for America.”

Wally licked the crumbs off his fingers. “That’s the most accurate observation anyone has ever made of me.”

He surprised Dick once more by requesting funnel cakes the moment they exited the restaurant. Dick wrinkled his nose at the suggestion of getting _even more_ food. “Dude, you just ate like five pounds of meat.”

“But that’s why I need to eat something sweet to balance it out,” Wally whined. He pouted at his friend for emphasis.

Dick huffed in annoyance, though his face betrayed his amusement. “Fine, I’ll spoil you just this once. But don’t blame me if all this fat goes straight to your ass.”

“Like you’re one to talk,” Wally grumbled under his breath, eyeing his friend’s unusually perky bottom as the two of them wandered towards the nearest food stand.

Treats in hand, the pair then made their way to the ferris wheel. At some point between the food stand and the mouth of the ferris wheel queue, Dick’s half-eaten mound of fried dough ended up in Wally’s outstretched hand.

“It’s too sweet for me,” Dick had said, to which Wally retorted, “Your loss, man.”

The ferris wheel operator—a lanky kid who looked like he was still in high school—shot the both of them an odd look as they boarded an empty carousel together. “Boys night out?”

“Something like that,” Wally responded with a sheepish grin.

“Cool … have fun?” The kid said unconvincingly as they slowly ascended off the platform, causing Dick to snicker as the two of them took their seats.

A cool night breeze swept in from the coast, which the ferris wheel offered an unobstructed view of at its peak. Wally had always loved being at the very top of the wheel, especially at night when the whole city was lit up like a scoreboard, the lights twinkling and dancing at a lively pulse. No matter how old he got, he still felt that same rush of energy when looking down at the world from high, high above.

Still keeping his eyes on the view below, Wally said, “Remember the very first time the two of us went on a ferris wheel together? At the city fair, when we were kids?”

“You mean when we snuck out on a school night, until your Uncle Barry caught us and dragged us back? And then Bruce kept me under house arrest for a week.”

“Wow, way to be the ‘glass half-empty’ guy,” Wally teased. “Don’t you remember how excited we were when we actually made it to the fair? And when one of the workers gave us cotton candy for free?”

“Of course you remember the food,” Dick said with a laugh. “I dunno. I guess I remember being happy since _you_ seemed so happy.”

Wally blinked at his friend in surprise, a warm smile gradually spreading across his face. “Funny, I remember thinking the exact same thing,” he replied, feeling a pleasant, tingly sensation in his chest. Thinking about it now, beyond the teasing and lame jokes … that was sort of a summary of their entire friendship, wasn’t it?

Grinning, Dick said, “So I guess that means we’re _both_ idiots.”

“Pretty much.”

The pair fell into a comfortable silence as they began their descent. Wally couldn’t help but feel a tinge of disappointment as the view of the distant coastline was quickly obstructed by a nearby apartment building. “Aww, man. It’s all downhill from here. Literally.”

He momentarily looked away from the looming platform beneath them to glance at his friend and froze when the two of them locked eyes. Dick was gazing at him intently. There was a softness in his eyes that caused a self-conscious blush to creep onto Wally’s cheeks.

“What’s up?” Wally said, his voice sounding oddly squeaky. “Something on my face?”

Dick was silent for a moment longer, his lips curving ever so slightly. “Yup. Freckles.”

Wally’s expression instantly soured as Dick’s face broke into a grin. He lightly pinched Wally’s cheek right where the concentration of freckles was highest—and though Wally would normally swat his friend’s hand away from his face, since it was just the two of them … he decided to let Dick have his fun. For now.

Dick abruptly stood and stretched as their carousel neared ground level. “Have room for ice cream in that bottomless pit you call a stomach?”

“I could _make_ room,” Wally replied, jumping to his feet.

The rest of the night was a whirlwind of carnival rides and snacks. Though Dick had seemed oddly tense at the start of night, Wally was glad that he seemed to relax more and more into his usual self as the night wore on.

While making their way to the carnival’s exit, the two of them took a detour to a whack-a-mole game offering giant stuffed toy prizes for high scorers.

“Watch and learn, my friend,” Dick said with a smirk, confidently grabbing the handle of the plastic hammer. Wally half-sarcastically cheered from the sidelines as he easily racked up points, a small LCD screen flashing his ever-increasing score in bright red lights. Things quickly went south when the speed of the game drastically increased, the little toy moles popping up for only a fraction of a second before retreating back into their holes.

“What the hell,” Dick muttered at the end of the lackluster round. “That game was totally rigged!”

“Mind if I try?” Wally asked, grabbing the hammer from his loosened grip.

Dick responded with a flippant shrug of his shoulders. “Go for it. But I’m telling you, we’re wasting our money.”

A minute later, all of Dick’s skepticism died in his mouth as the LCD screen flashed a perfect 100. Wally shoved the prize, an oversized teddy bear, into Dick’s arms, wearing a giant shit-eating grin. “Nice try, slowpoke.”

Wally bit his lip to a stifle a snigger as Dick hugged the teddy bear to his chest, visibly slumping in defeat. “I would’ve preferred the panda toy. But thanks.”

“Beggars can’t be choosers.”

They bought a bag of popcorn for the trip back to campus, and since Dick’s arms were full, Wally made a game of tossing the popcorn directly into the other’s mouth, the missed attempts leaving little buttery marks on Dick’s cheeks. The image was especially amusing because Dick—who was dressed head-to-toe like a Calvin Klein model—had been forced to carry the teddy bear bridal-style.

Unbeknownst to Dick, Wally had secretly taken a picture of him while he had been distracted. If nothing else, it would make for decent blackmail material.

Sooner than expected, the two of them came to a halt in front of the door to their dorm.

“And that’s that,” Dick said as Wally ran up the entrance staircase and held the door open for him. “Questions? Comments? Compliments? Preferably the last one.”

If Wally was completely honest with himself, the night had been way more fun than he had been anticipating. Not that he was willing to actually say that out loud. Instead, he settled for a modest, “Not bad, Grayson. Not bad at all.”

“Faint praise, but I'll take it. And it’s _your_ turn tomorrow, Walls. Better bring your A-game.” He quirked a brow when he noticed that Wally wasn’t following him into the building. “You coming?”

“Um, actually…” Wally’s gaze fell to his feet. He had meant to mention this earlier but had never found a good opportunity to bring it up. “I’ll be staying over at Roy’s dorm for the week. I figured it would be kinda weird for us to still be roommates while we’re ‘dating’.”

Dick was quiet for a long moment, his expression completely blank. “…And Roy’s okay with that?”

“Yup. He still has the extra bed, ever since he terrorized his roommate into moving out.”

Wally neglected to mention that he hadn’t told Roy the full truth about exactly _why_ he didn’t want to live in his own room for a week. The less people knew about their situation, the better.

“Well, as long as you two are okay with that…” Dick said reluctantly. “Though it’ll be weird getting some peace and quiet for once.”

“It’s just a week. My noisy ass’ll be moving back in before you know it.” With a smirk, Wally added, “And don’t even think of using this as an opportunity to cheat on me. I’m watching you.”

Dick let out an amused snort. “Wouldn’t dream of it, pal.” He waved as he made his way to the nearest elevator bank. “See you tomorrow night. And remember: A-game.”

Wally waited for the door to click shut, and then leaned against it with a heavy sigh. He was supposed to plan the next date, but he had exactly zero good ideas. And he now had one extra thing to consider:

What was he going to wear?


	3. In which Wally and Dick find themselves in a sticky situation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been a strange and stressful week, and so I turned to fic writing to escape the crushing weight of reality. Enjoy. :P

Wally wasn’t sure why, but Artemis had been shooting him dirty looks from the other end of the classroom throughout the entirety of their BioChem class. He figured there were probably a million different ways he could’ve inadvertently pissed her off, and so there was no point in trying to piece together _that_ puzzle.

Wally attempted to slip out of class the moment the lecture ended, but Artemis somehow managed to beat him to the door.

“We need to talk,” she said, practically spitting the words out in barely suppressed anger. Without waiting for his response, she grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him to a relatively secluded area of the building.

“Listen, if this is about me ditching you and Zatanna at that frat party, sorry but that was _so_ not my scene—“

“This isn’t about some stupid party!” Artemis hissed, waving her arms at no one. “Look, I know about … about your relationship with you-know-who!”

Wally crossed his arms, looking completely unimpressed. “Am I supposed to know what that means?”

Artemis muttered something under her breath—the only word Wally caught was “idiot.” Narrowing her eyes ever so slightly, she said just loudly enough for him to hear, “Fine then, if you want to play it like that, then I’ll just come out and say it.” She leaned in and spoke in a hushed tone, as though uttering a curse. “You’re dating Dick Grayson!”

Wally felt his throat constrict in sudden panic. He wasn’t sure how she could have possibly gotten wind of _that_ little factoid, but he figured there were two ways out of this situation:

  1. Divulge everything and reassure her that nothing was _really_ going on between him and Dick
  2. Deny, deny, deny



Wally put on his biggest, most infuriatingly petulant grin and said, “Am I now? That’s news to me. And here I thought I was straight, but if Artemis says I like men, then I guess it must be true.”

Wally ended his little spiel with a mocking laugh. Artemis bit her bottom lip, likely to keep herself from screeching at him in frustration.

“Quit the act already! I know for a fact that, like, a million people saw the two of you acting all lovey-dovey in front of the student union last night!”

“Yeah, well, no shit Sherlock. Dick and I are _always_ lovey-dovey. We’re just that damn cute. Doesn’t mean we’re dating.”

Usually at this point, Artemis would become completely fed up with him, yell something derisive, and storm out. Instead, she smirked at him, dangerously, like she was just about to whip out her trump card.

“If you’re not dating, then why was Dick wearing his date clothes?”

It took a moment for Wally to process what she said. _That_ was her proof—his outfit? Were Dick’s fashion choices really such common knowledge on campus?

“Date clothes?” Wally finally said, sounding a little dumbfounded. “Really? Is that even a thing?”

“Of course it’s a thing! Most men might not care, but when a guy as good-looking as Dick goes strutting around campus in thousand dollar jeans, the girls will definitely notice!”

“ _Thousand dollar jeans?_ ” Wally sputtered, eyes going huge. Even just uttering the words made his wallet shudder in fear. “No freakin’ way. Why would anyone spend that much money on a pair of pants?”

“They would if they’re rich and want to impress someone,” Artemis replied, shoving an accusatory finger in Wally’s chest. “That best friend of yours is totally hitting on you, and he is _way_ above your level! He’ll chew you up and spit you out—like a wad of gum! Like a watermelon seed!”

The food analogies were making Wally hungry.

Oblivious to his plight, Artemis continued, “You might not be aware of this, but Dick has a reputation amongst us girls. He’s a _total_ player. I know he’s a friend, but you better watch your back—literally.”

Wally suppressed the urge to gag at the implication behind her words. This was all information that he _really_ did not want to know. “I appreciate the concern, I guess, but you’re worried over nothing. Seriously. There isn’t anything going on.”

Artemis opened her mouth to retort, but Wally pushed past her and made a beeline for the exit. He clenched his fist, feeling surprisingly irritated about what Artemis had said about Dick.

The last thing he heard was Artemis yell, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you!” right before the doors closed shut behind him.

* * *

 As expected, Dick arrived at the school gate at 6PM sharp, looking like he just stepped off a runway.

“What is this, Dick Grayson’s Fashion Week?” Wally said with a teasing smile, lightly tugging the lapel of Dick’s black wool trench coat. In the back of his mind, Wally wondered if this jacket cost a thousand dollars too.

Dick matched Wally’s smile with one of his own. “What, no hoodie today?”

“Dude, I went to Hugo Boss specifically to buy this shirt,” Wally said, gesturing to his white polo decorated with small red flourishes. “You know you’re buying good shit when the store has the word Boss in its name.”

Dick laughed, buoyant and carefree, the sound of it causing a fluttery feeling in Wally’s chest. “This way, good sir,” he said, leading Dick to a stalled taxi across the street. “The show starts at 6:30, so we’ll need to take a cab to get to the place on time.”

“Show?” Dick asked, lifting a brow in curiosity. “What kind of show?”

With a smirk, Wally replied, “Not telling. It’s _your_ turn to wait and see.”

It took ten minutes by cab to arrive at their destination, and most of the ride was spent chatting about their classes, mutual friends, and how much worse of a roommate Roy was in comparison to Dick.

Dick frowned as they stopped in front of a fairly nondescript brick building at the edge of the entertainment district, a vintage marquee lighted sign displaying the night’s acts. “A comedy club?” Dick asked, skepticism dripping from his voice.

“Hey, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it,” Wally replied as he exited the cab and headed towards the building entrance. Reluctantly, Dick followed him inside.

Wally immediately liked the stripped-down lounge atmosphere inside the theater. They managed to nab a table close to the stage, a server handing them menus the moment they took their seats. Dick scanned the menu items, looking largely disinterested until he spotted one particular item near the bottom of the page. “They have carne asada burritos here?!”

“Yup. I even called ahead of time to make sure they’d be offering them today. Am I the best date ever or what?”

Dick immediately flagged down a waiter. “Dude, there are tears in my eyes. I could kiss you right now.”

“Woah woah,” Wally said with a grin, “You’ll need to take me on a few more dates before you put your hands on me, mister.”

Dick had grown up on a strict, spartan diet, as mandated by his adoptive father. Naturally, Wally had been the one who led him astray—though Dick was in such good shape that he could probably eat ten burritos a day and somehow still be ripped. It was truly unfair.

Their burritos arrived just minutes before the comedians took the stage. The show that night was performed by a comedy troupe that did a mix of skits and improv games. For the most part, Wally thought that they were funny but not ha-ha funny. Dick seemed too distracted by his food to care.

Thankfully, Dick finished eating before the big moment began. At the halfway point of the show, the whole troupe gathered on stage and said, “For this next game, we’re gonna need a couple volunteers from the audience.”

Wally straightened in his seat. This was it.

A spotlight wandered aimlessly around the audience seats, and just as planned, it came to an abrupt stop right at their table. Dick wildly glanced around the room as the audience erupted in applause, egging them onto the stage. It had cost Wally a $20 bribe to make this happen—but it was worth it just to see the deer-in-headlights expression on Dick’s face. It took all of Wally’s self-control to keep himself from snickering.

Wally grabbed his friend by the forearm and half-dragged him to the stage. Once the clapping died down, the apparent leader of the comedy troupe shoved a microphone in Dick’s face and asked, “Name and description of yourself in five words or less?”

Without missing a beat, Dick replied, “Dan. Dan Greenson. I’m a criminology student.”

Wally gave him a look. This city was close enough to Gotham that it _was_ a reasonable assumption that a few people in the audience might recognize the name of the adopted heir of Gotham’s wealthiest son. But still, “Dan Greenson”? Was this guy for real?

“And you?” The leader said to Wally, the microphone now hovering in front of him.

“Wally West,” he said proudly. “Gentleman and scholar.”

This drew some laughs from the audience and an amused eyeroll from Dick.

“And what brings you two to our show tonight?”

The question was followed by an abnormally long pause. The two of them exchanged glances, unsure of what to say or who should speak. Finally, Dick hesitantly explained, “The two of us are just hang-”

“We’re on a date.”

A hushed murmur filled the room. Dick froze in his spot, his eyes on the verge of popping out of their sockets. Wally himself wasn’t entirely sure why he had said it—only that it was kiiind of the truth and why hide it around strangers?

In contrast to the audience, the performers seemed completely unfazed. With the introductions out of the way, they moved onto explaining the rules of the game. “We’ll use these two brave young men as props for our next skit. We need suggestions for the setting?”

“A bathroom!”

“Casino!”

“A porno!”

The last one drew several big laughs from the audience. “A porno it is, then!”

Wally instinctively felt a wave of apprehension over the direction this was taking. Dick, who looked like the color had drained from his face, was likely feeling the same.

It started innocently enough, with the two of them only used as furniture props while the comedians simulated the raunchier acts. It seemed like they would be able to escape the ordeal with minimal embarrassment until—

“We need to move these blow up dolls closer to each other.”

Wally felt a pat on his back, signaling him to take a step forward. Dick, a.k.a. Blow Up Doll #2, was standing just a couple feet ahead of him. He took a small step in his direction.

“ _Closer_ than that.”

The comedians continued goading them until he and Dick stood a precious few inches apart, their faces so close that he could feel Dick’s slow, measured breaths caress his skin. Wally tried to stare off to the side, but they were too close to avoid seeing each other completely. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see that Dick’s cheeks were tinged a light shade of pink.

From the audience, he heard a voice, young and feminine, yell out, “Kiss!”

A few other ladies erupted into giggles then followed suit, calling the word out until their voices melted into one and became a steady chant. “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

From behind, he heard one of the comedians—also female—whisper to them, “Have at it, boys.”

_Damn_ , Wally thought. _These women are thirsty._

A voice of reason suddenly broke through the madness surrounding them. “You don’t have to, you know.”

It took a moment for Wally to realize that the voice belonged to Dick, who had spoken directly into his ear. The puffs of warm air brushed against his earlobe, causing him to reflexively shiver. “It’s not like they actually care,” Dick continued. “They just want a show.”

Perhaps it was the rush of adrenaline from being onstage, or the chanting from the audience. Whatever the cause, at that moment, Wally felt like being a bit of a showoff. “If it’s a show they want, let’s give ‘em one.”

From his voice alone, Wally could tell that Dick was genuinely confused. “What do you mean?”

Wally just smirked in response. Then he turned his head, eyes fluttering shut, and leaned in.

The first thought that entered his mind was that Dick’s lips were surprisingly soft. Very kissable. He could feel an almost feverish warmth radiating from his skin. Wally decided that it felt rather nice.

Their lips brushed for only a few short seconds, but it was enough to provoke a few wolf whistles, cheers, and a smattering of nervous laughter from the guys in attendance. Dick had a slightly dazed expression on his face when Wally stepped away, seemingly still recovering from shock. His lips were slightly parted and moist. The word ‘cute’ flashed through Wally’s mind.

“Let’s give it up for these two lovebirds!”

And with that, the two of them were ushered off stage to a chorus of claps, hoots, and snickering from the audience.

Wally and Dick barely even looked at each other for the rest of the show.

* * *

 The campus was unusually silent and still upon their return. Dick hadn’t said much of anything throughout the cab ride back, and Wally was seriously worried that he had messed up really, _really_ badly this time.

_Good going, idiot,_ Wally mentally reprimanded himself. _Yeah, go ahead and assault your best friend in front of a hundred people—that’ll go over REAL well. You are so fucked._

“Dick,” Wally said, finally stopping his friend as they neared the residential quarters. He took a deep breath. “I am so, so, _so_ sorry! I don’t know why I did it, but I apologize if it embarrassed you or made things weird, and I totally understand if you’re pissed at me, hell, _I’m_ pissed at me, and I would never want to actually do anything to push you away or ruin our friendship in any way and—“

He stopped, interrupted by the sound of soft laughter. Dick smiled at him, gently, not a trace of anger to be found. “Wally, take a deep breath, okay? You need to chill out.”

He did as he was told, sucking in a few deep, shuddering breaths, willing his nerves to cool down. He hadn’t realized how tense he was until that moment.

“I’m not mad,” Dick said, still smiling. “It caught me off guard, yeah, but it’s not like this is the first time the two of us have done stupid, impulsive shit. It happens.”

Wally fidgeted nervously. “So … You don’t hate me?”

Dick’s brows lifted in surprise before shifting to a more amused expression. There was also a flicker of another, subtler emotion in Dick's eyes that was harder for him to identify. “Wally, I don’t even think it’s possible for me to hate you.”

The words hit Wally like a jolt of electricity. He felt a sudden stinging in his eyes as the slightest bit of moisture began to well up at the edges. “Holy crap, man, you might actually make me cry.”

Dick laughed once more, closing the gap between them and pulling Wally into a loose embrace. “Yeah, I know. I’m pretty great—it’s only natural that you’d want to cry in my presence.”

Wally buried his face in his friend’s shoulder, closing his eyes to keep the tears from gathering. “Geez, Dick, I really am sorry. This date was pretty awful, wasn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t say that. I mean, at least the burrito was good.”

Wally snorted with amusement, which prompted a chuckle from the other man. “Yeah, I guess it wasn’t a hundred percent awful. Maybe just like ninety-five percent.”

“That sounds about right.” Dick took a step back, releasing Wally from the embrace. He felt a slight twinge of disappointment at the loss of warmth.

They began to resume their walk back to the dorms, but Wally stopped when Dick abruptly turned back to face him, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I was debating whether to say this, but ... a word of advice, Walls. If you’re gonna kiss someone, you should do it for real. I’ll give you an A for effort, though.”

With a smirk, Dick sauntered on ahead of him, leaving Wally frozen in the middle of the sidewalk, gaping at his retreating back.

Did ... did his best friend just diss his kissing skills?


	4. In which Dick surprises Wally in both good and bad ways

Wally spread his arms wide, soaking in the blast of arid wind that slammed against him. It was finally Friday and the first hot day they had had the whole week—and it would likely be the last before autumn fully descended upon them.

He checked his phone out of forced habit and was surprised to see a series of texts that he had missed while in class. He tapped on the first message, blanching as he read its contents.

> **(F)Arty**
> 
> I know that the two of you went out again last night! I’m SO onto you guys!!

Wally exited the text, not bothering to grace it with a response. Though he _was_ curious how Artemis managed to figure this stuff out—did she have spies all over campus? Were there cameras installed in the corners of the buildings?

The second text was even worse.

> **Ya Boy Lil Roy**
> 
> I already told you NOT to leave your crusty ass unwashed clothes on the floor. That’s what the hamper is for you idiot. If you do it again I’m tossing your dirty boxers out the window for the whole campus to see.

_Best roommate ever_ , Wally thought dryly. His mood instantly lifted upon noticing that the last unread text was from his actual roommate. It simply read: “5PM at the south campus parking lot. Bring your swimming trunks. ;)”

Wally’s eyes zoomed in on the words “swimming trunks” and the winky face next to them. Either there was a men’s swimwear convention in town or…

He grinned in anticipation. They were totally going to the beach.

* * *

 Wally expected the pile of beach gear in the trunk: an inflatable ball, towels, a parasol, and a surf board. What he didn’t expect to see was the car itself, a dark beauty of a machine that almost seemed to shimmer in the sunlight.

“Please don’t tell me this is Bruce’s Lamborghini,” Wally said, half in awe and half in fear.

Dick ran his fingertips along the car’s sleek black hood, a self-satisfied smirk on his lips. “This is Bruce’s Lamborghini.”

Wally stood a safe distance away, wary of getting his DNA anywhere near _that man’s_ property. “Well, it was nice knowing you. I’ll make sure to attend your funeral.”

“Don’t be such a worrywart, Walls! Bruce is out of town for a whole week. And Alfred’s got my back on this one, so he’ll never even know.”

Wally took a tentative step towards the vehicle, eyeing it as though it were a predatory beast. “Considering your track record for successfully lying to Bruce is like 10 to 1, forgive me for having my doubts. When he finds out, I’m totally telling him that you coerced me into joining you.”

Dick dismissed his concerns with a wave of his hand. “You’re riding shotgun, Walls,” he said, nodding towards the passenger seat.

Wally tugged the door handle, hopping backwards with a startled yelp when the door rotated upwards instead of swinging out towards him. The opened doors sat adjacent to the car roof, looking a little like outstretched wings.

“Okay, _that_ was impressive,” Wally said, gazing at the doors with wonder. “I feel like I’m in the future.”

“Stick with me, kid, and you’ll go places.” Dick took his seat and slotted the key, the engine roaring to life. “Speaking of going places, I was thinking of driving along the coast. I know it’s the longer route, but it’s way prettier than taking the highway.” Gesturing to a lunch pack nestled on the floor of the passenger seat, he continued, “And I threw together some sandwiches in case you get hungry along the way.”

“Dude, I’m hungry _now_.” Wally lunged at the food, eagerly tearing the sandwich from its neat tin foil wrapping. “A scenic drive to the beach and a homemade meal? I am _this_ close to swooning.”

“I know, I know, I’m just too good.”

They made their way through the largely empty road bordering the coastline, heading towards the horizon and chasing the setting sun. The warm wind surged in through their opened windows, thoroughly mussing their clothes and hair.

Wally noticed that Dick was wearing the most casual outfit that he had seen in days: a plain white tank and unbuttoned shirt atop his black swimming trunks. Even in normal clothes, the sight of him would likely still be enough to make some women blush. Wally had been vaguely conscious of it before, but he now felt painfully aware that his best friend really was one good looking son of a bitch.

By the time they arrived at the beach, the humidity had become less oppressive in the waning sunlight, imbuing the sand with an only tepid warmth. They set up their chairs close to the water’s edge, and immediately tore their shirts off, unceremoniously dumping their clothes next to their bags.

As expected, Dick began to garner stares the moment he undressed. Not that Wally was in bad shape himself—he had been a varsity track runner in high school, after all. But he lacked the conventional, classically handsome features of his friend, the ones that apparently made girls look at him through a rose-tinted filter. He noticed one girl in the water blatantly point in their direction while whispering and giggling to her friends.

“Dude,” Wally said, attempting to mask the irritation he felt with humor, “Could you try not to be so muscle-y around me? You’re making me look bad.”

“Are you kidding?” Dick replied with a grin. Before Wally could stop him, Dick pinched his chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Nothing could make _this_ face look bad.”

Wally shrugged out of his friend’s grasp, actually feeling embarrassed by the compliment. “Aw shucks, you’re gonna make me blush.”

To his horror, Wally realized that he really could feel the beginnings of a blush on his cheeks. As a quick distraction, he grabbed the beach ball and tossed it high into the air. “Don’t let the ball drop to the ground!”

Dick accepted the challenge and the two of them spiked the ball back-and-forth until Wally’s skin, thankfully, regained its normal color.

* * *

 Wally enjoyed the feel of the cool, wet sand grains sifting beneath his feet as the two of them walked the shoreline, casually tossing the beach ball to one another. At the moment, he felt like beaning it right in Dick’s face, if only to wipe the goofy grin off his mouth.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Dick said, physically stopping in his tracks. “Raquel and Babs both said that I’m a stud?”

Wally rolled his eyes. “Yeah, apparently that’s how they refer to your kind around here.”

“But those were their exact words?”

“Maybe not exactly, but that was the general sentiment. And stop grinning like that, man, it’s grossing me out.” Wally huffed in annoyance. He still felt bothered by the conversation that had triggered all this, though he felt that there might be another underlying reason for his irritation, one that he couldn’t quite pinpoint yet.

“Aww, cheer up, Walls,” Dick said, sympathetically patting him on the back. “You’ll always be a stud in my eyes.”

“Yeah, great,” Wally replied sarcastically, though he couldn’t help the smile that crept onto his lips.

As they neared their camp, they tossed the ball into the pile where all the rest of their belongings were gathered. The sun had long since dipped below the horizon, leaving only the stars to illuminate the seemingly endless stretch of water beside them. Most of the other visitors had left the beach once it grew dark, leaving their surroundings largely deserted.

Dick stretched and yawned, turning to face the ocean. “We’ve been here all this time and we haven’t even gone into the water yet.”

“Yeah, have fun with that.” Wally collapsed onto a chair, folding his arms behind his head. “I might just take a nap or something.”

“You can’t go to the beach and _not_ go swimming!” Dick replied, sounding weirdly offended. “What was the point of even bringing your swim trunks?”

Wally lolled his head, considering his words. Then, with a teasing tone, he asked, “Hey, why is a _stud_ like you wearing baggy swim trunks instead of, like, a speedo? How are we supposed to admire that hot bod now?”

Dick crossed his arms, regarding him with a confident smirk. “Who said I’m swimming in these?”

Wally blinked. “Huh?”

Without further warning, Dick turned his back to him and slipped his thumb beneath the hem of his shorts, slowly tugging downwards. Wally instantly felt the blood rush to his face the moment he glimpsed the smooth, pale curves of his friend’s bare ass. A thin strip of stretchy black cloth hugged the circumference of his hips before sinking into the gap between his cheeks, leaving very little to the imagination.

Wally’s eyes grew wider than he thought possible. “Holy SHIT, dude!” He reflexively covered his gaping mouth with his palm, his head so hot that he thought it might burst into flames. Death by thong.

Dick was bent over with laughter, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. “Oh my god, dude, your face! Your face! I totally should’ve taken a picture!”

Normally, Wally would reply with some smartass retort, but at the moment, his brain seemed only capable of its most basic functions. He imagined that his face, which Dick was now pointing at, probably resembled a blushier version of The Scream painting.

Before Wally had time to form a coherent response, Dick shook the shorts fully off his legs, letting the cloth pool onto the sand beneath him, then ran to the water. Wally eyed the discarded shorts, feeling light-headed. He grabbed a nearby stick and used it to lift the shorts from the sand, gingerly dropping it onto the chair next to him.

“This is just obscene,” Wally mumbled to himself, not fully believing what was happening. Was this real life?

From the water, he heard Dick yell, “Get your butt in here, Walls!”

Wally hesitated for a moment before finally shuffling into the water to join him. He waded till the water reached his chest and stopped a good distance away from Dick, feeling unusually shy around his friend.

“You can come closer, you know,” Dick said with a knowing smile. “I’m not gonna bite.”

Wally narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “I dunno, man. I’m not sure what you’re capable of anymore.”

"Intimidated much?" Dick asked, smirking.

Wally snorted. "I don't think that word accurately describes whatever it is I'm feeling right now."

Dick's hands peeked up from below the water's surface, his fingers gesturing for him to move closer. Reluctantly, Wally obeyed and he slowly inched towards him.

When he was almost within arm's reach of the other man, Dick's lips lifted in a devilish grin as he swung his arm back then whipped it forwards, sending a small wave of water in Wally's direction. Wally attempted to dodge, but ended up getting splashed in the face.

"Hey!" He wiped the water from his eyes and shook his head, hoping the little droplets of water from his hair hit Dick in the face.

With a devilish grin of his own, he pulled both arms back and created an even bigger wave.

The two of them continued their water fight until they were both drenched and happy, any feelings of awkwardness or embarrassment swept away with the rising tide.

* * *

 "Hey, Wally?" Dick asked, much later in the night. Once they were fully clothed again ( _thank god_ , thought Wally), they retreated back to the Lamborghini. They were now parked on a small cliff overlooking the beach, the opened car roof offering them a stunning view of the night sky.

They used the towels as blankets and curled up in the roomy chairs, letting the sand and grit fall from their hair and skin onto their cushioned seats. Wally figured that Dick would just persuade Alfred into using his butler sorcery to get the car prim and proper for Bruce's arrival.

"What's up?" Wally asked.

Dick pulled his towel closer to him, fully wrapping it over his arms and around his chest. "I was, umm, thinking about something."

"Yeah?" Wally glanced over at his friend, brow raised in inquiry. Dick was staring down at the floor, unwilling to meet his gaze.

"I was wondering ... Were you weirded out when I first told you that I ... you know..."

"That you swing both ways?" Wally replied, an amused lilt to his voice. "That was years ago, man. Why are you bringing that up now?"

"We've just never really talked about it since then." Dick shrugged, eyes still glued to the floor. "Even when Roy and I were together, you didn't comment on it at all."

"I guess I just didn't think there was anything to say?" Wally ran a hand through his hair, biting his inner lip nervously. He himself wasn't entirely sure why he had always been so nonchalant about his best friend's sexuality, even back when he wasn't particularly open-minded about such things.

He still recalled that conversation very clearly in his mind—Dick sitting on the far edge of his living room couch, knees drawn to his chest, looking the most vulnerable he had ever seen him. The memory alone evoked a sweet, slightly painful feeling in Wally's chest.

"To tell you the truth, I do remember feeling uncomfortable when you first told me. It just came out of left field for me, you know?"

Dick finally met his gaze. Wally could see the fear buried in his friend's eyes and reflexively grabbed his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "But even back then, I knew that it didn't _really_ bother me. I mean, it's not like you liking dudes would make you unrecognizable or something. You're still the same person. You're still my best friend."

The two of them simply stared at each other for a long moment. Dick was completely still, which made Wally anxiously wonder whether he had said something wrong. Finally, the corners of Dick's lips began to lift into a slow, gentle smile that made Wally's heart thump a few beats faster.

The minutes ticked by in silence, the pair simply enjoying each other’s company. Just as Wally began to nod off, he felt a sudden weight press against his side. His eyes fluttered open and saw that Dick had scooted close enough that their bodies touched, his head leaning onto Wally's shoulder.

With a smile, Wally rolled his head back onto his headrest and closed his eyes once more. His body stiffened when he felt Dick shift position so that his head rested against his chest, his hair lightly brushing against the underside of Wally's chin. He had one arm loosely wrapped around the side of his waist.

“Dude,” Wally said, squirming slightly, “You’re, like, all up on me.”

Peeking up at him through one opened eye, Dick murmured, “Yeah, because it’s getting chilly and these towels aren’t warm enough. So be a good fake boyfriend and cuddle with me.”

To emphasize his statement, Dick wriggled even closer to him. With a defeated sigh, Wally hugged his friend close to his chest. His whole body radiated warmth, shielding him from the cool ocean breeze. Dick’s hair felt soft against his neck, and out of curiosity, Wally caressed the crown of his head with his cheek, chuckling as the hair strands tickled his skin.

“Now _you’re_ the one all up on _me_.” Wally couldn’t see Dick’s face, but he guessed that he was probably wearing a smug little smile.

“Way to ruin the moment, man.” Wally leaned back and sighed pleasantly as he felt all tension leave his muscles. He soon drifted into unconsciousness, lulled to sleep by the sound of his friend’s slow, measured breaths, rising and falling to the same rhythm as his own.


	5. In which Wally decides that he does, in fact, like cinnamon schnapps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say that I really, really appreciate all the comments I've been getting on this fic. I don't always reply because I'm even worse at expressing myself than Wally is, and sometimes I don't know what to say other than, "thank you! :crying_face:" over and over again. But I really do appreciate each and every comment I've received. Thank you all. :')

Wally blearily rubbed the sleep from his eyes, grimacing as the early afternoon sunlight made a full-on frontal assault on his face. He vaguely recalled dozing off in the car and waking up hours later, he and Dick still tangled in each other’s arms.

A flush of orange had just pierced the horizon when Dick dropped him off at the dorms, and then continued his lonely journey back to Gotham. Wally could just imagine the disapproving look on Alfred’s face upon seeing Dick roll into Wayne Manor at 6am, oddly sandy Lambo in tow.

With an exaggerated yawn, Wally lazily rolled onto his side, blinking in surprise when his eyes landed upon Roy Harper’s impassive face, staring straight at him from across the room. Wally paused, expecting Roy to initiate some sort of conversation. When the silence stretched for an uncomfortable length of time, Wally finally croaked, “Got something to say?”

For a moment, Roy just continued staring at him. Then, the corners of his mouth twitched into a thin smile. “So I bumped into Cassie last night.”

Wally felt his anxiety instantly spike. Oh _shit_.

Noting Wally’s reaction, Roy’s smile became a few shades darker as he went on to say, “And she mentioned that she and Dick called it quits weeks ago and have barely even spoken to each other since then. Which I found quite interesting, since a certain _someone_ told me that Cassie is the reason he got sexiled from his room for a whole week.”

Wally was very, very still. Maybe if he didn’t move then Roy would forget he was there.

Roy’s smile straightened to a flat line, eyes narrowing ever so slightly in warning. “Wally. Spill.”

Wally slowly pushed himself into a sitting position and nervously fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. He shyly peeked up at the other man. “Fine, I’ll tell you what’s really going on. But try not to be a total asshole about it, okay?”

Roy crossed his arms and leaned back, his shoulders softly thudding against the wall bordering his bed. “I’m not making any promises. But go on.”

Wally took a deep breath. “Dick and I are dating … sort of. I mean, it’s not serious at all! It’s more of a roleplay than anything, I guess. Like pretend dating?”

It sounded stupid even to his own ears. To Wally’s surprise, Roy didn’t immediately burst into laughter or start heckling him. Instead, he bowed his head and knitted his brows, seemingly in thought—he almost looked pensive. Finally, Roy murmured, “Hmm. Interesting.”

Wally’s scrunched his face up in confusion. “Seriously? _That’s_ your reaction?”

“What, were you expecting a parade?” Roy smirked. Wally just barely restrained himself from throwing his pillow at him.

“I dunno, I guess I just figured you would think I was joking or something. I mean, it’s a pretty weird thing to do, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but it fits. You two are a pretty weird pair.”

Wally cocked his head. “How so?”

Roy’s mouth opened, but then quickly snapped shut. Instead, Roy silently scrutinized him for a long while, his expression completely unreadable. Wally felt a little like a specimen on a dissection table, Roy’s eyes probing for some specific thing buried deep inside him. He gulped.

“You don’t seem to realize this,” Roy said, the words so sudden that Wally jerked in surprise, “But at our age, there’s no such thing as ‘pretend dating.’ Especially when your ‘pretend boyfriend’ just so happens to be the biggest, hottest trust fund baby on the entire campus.”

Wally collapsed back onto his mattress, groaning dramatically the whole way down. “I am _so_ tired of everyone telling me how attractive they think my best friend is. And besides,” he craned his neck to send the other man a questioning, slightly judgmental look, “Aren’t _you_ the one who broke things off with _him_? Kinda odd that you’re, like, pimping him out to me right now.”

Roy deflected the accusations with a casual shrug. “I’m just stating facts. And it’s not that odd, since there was barely anything to break off to begin with. Unless you think randomly hooking up is the same as dating.”

Wally’s eyes widened, the crude nature of his two best friends’ six-month fling becoming much clearer in his mind. “Oh,” was the only thing he managed to say.

Before the awkwardness could fully settle, Roy deftly switched topics. “So, what are tonight’s plans for your so-called pretend date?”

“As of now? Nada.” Wally punctuated the statement with a sigh. He propped his head up on his hand, his eyes meeting Roy’s. “You got any brilliant ideas?”

“Geez, West. Are you really so hopeless that you can’t even figure this one out on your own?” Wally could practically see the condescension dripping from Roy’s voice.

“Dude, just answer the question. It’s too early for this shit.”

“It’s almost noon, you lazy ass. And if you haven’t noticed, it’s also Saturday.” Roy paused. When Wally completely failed to react to his hint, he said with more than a hint of impatience, “As in, the biggest party night of the week? If you need an idea for what to do on your date, there it is.”

Wally frowned, instinctively uncomfortable with the idea. “Some trashy house part isn’t exactly my idea of a romantic night out.”

Roy tapped his finger on the bend of his knee, eyes cast downwards in concentration. “There are plenty of other options. Just leave it to me.”

Some part of Wally’s brain sensed an encroaching danger in the other man’s words. But then again, it _was_ true that Roy had way more knowledge and experience with this kind of stuff than he did. Cautiously, Wally said, “Fine. But if this date sucks, then you’re totally doing my laundry for the rest of the semester.”

Roy smiled, apparently pleased with himself. “Deal.”

* * *

 Their date started later than usual, the two of them having grabbed a quick dinner on campus before leaving. Throngs of young, well-dressed people flooded the neon lit bars that lined the sidewalks, the crowds so dense that Wally and Dick were forced to link arms to keep from losing one another. They ended up competing with five other couples before they finally nudged their way into a taxi.

“We aren’t going to another comedy show, are we?” Dick asked in an uncharacteristically whiny voice as he climbed into the backseat.

Wally scoffed. “After what happened last time? Hell no.”

“So then where _are_ we going?”

“Patience, my friend. Why ruin the surprise?” Wally grinned and hoped it looked convincing. In reality, their destination was a mystery to the both of them. All Roy had given him was a crumpled slip of paper with an address scrawled onto one side of it. On the other side, Roy had written the words: “don’t think, just do”

Whatever the hell that meant.

“I’ll give you a hint,” Wally said with a coy smile, “It’s a nightclub.” _Probably_ , he mentally added.

“Really?” Dick replied, sounding genuinely impressed. “Damn. Welcome to the party, man.”

The cab took off with a sudden jerk, causing Wally’s back to smack against the uncomfortably hard cushion of his seat. He reflexively withdrew his hand when he felt Dick’s fingers accidentally brush against his.

Wally didn’t know whether the driver had been booking it or what, but they only seemed to be on the road for a few minutes before he announced that they had arrived.

Dick’s eyes went huge the moment he caught sight of the building they were parked in front of. “We’re going to _this_ nightclub? Are you sure?”

Wally peered out the window, double-checking the address. “Yup, this is it,” he said, feeling a prickle of anxiety. He wondered why Dick seemed so surprised—did he recognize the place?

It looked normal enough on the outside. The building was almost entirely black, with funky metallic fixtures on the walls that jutted out like jagged rocks. The letters “XY” sat at the uppermost right corner of the building, written in giant analog letters. _Weird name_ , Wally thought.

“I gotta say, Walls, you still find ways to surprise me. But as long as you’re sure you want to do this…?” Dick trailed off ominously.

Wally flashed a smile as he pushed the car door open with a creak, deciding to plow forward despite the repeated warnings. “Of course I’m sure.”

To Wally’s surprise, the bouncer at the front waved them in without even glancing at their IDs. “You must look old,” Dick teased, to which Wally responded, “Please. I clearly won him over with my stunning beauty.”

The rhythmic thumping of the bass was audible even from outside the building and became nearly deafening the moment they stepped in. Wally’s eyes did a sweep of the spacious open area that constituted the main floor of the club. There was a stage at the opposite end, where a DJ was currently playing synth-heavy music while beams of colored light fanned out through the audience like feelers.

Essentially, it was like every other nice-ish club that Wally had been to. He felt the tension leave his body, his doubts and worries melting away along with it.

As the two of them made their way through the dance floor, Wally couldn’t help but notice that Dick was clinging _awfully_ close. He could understand if the place was completely packed, but as is, there was room enough for them to move around comfortably.

“Dude,” Wally said, yelling to be heard over the music, “Stick any closer to me and our skin might fuse.”

Dick glanced up at him with a bashful grin. “People here are … aggressive to people who come alone.” At Wally’s questioning stare, he added, “I went here once. Alone. That’s how I know.”

Before Wally had time to mull over that nugget of information, the music suddenly picked up in tempo, sending the crowd into a mild frenzy. The energy was infectious—though Wally had only been bobbing his head to the beat till that point, the urge to move spread throughout his whole body, the booms of the bass sounding like the pounding of a heartbeat in his ears.

Dick quickly followed his lead, easily matching his enthusiasm. Wally had always known that Dick could dance, but usually the two of them were too preoccupied with other people to pay much attention to one another. But now that his attention was fully centered on his friend— _damn_ was he good. Wally hadn’t even thought it was possible for men to sway their hips like that.

He tore his eyes away, uncomfortable with the knowledge that he was basically checking out his best friend. He casually scanned the crowd, noticing for the first time that there was an unusual concentration of guys on the dance floor.

From past experience, Wally knew that most clubs were practically frothing at the mouth at any opportunity to rope a group of young, attractive girls into entering their establishment. Oddly, this club only had the occasional pair or trio of women scattered within a sea of men. And upon closer observation, Wally noticed that precisely zero of those girls were grinding up against guys. In fact, some of them were grinding up against each other … Wally glanced away, shame-faced upon realizing that his gaze had lingered on _those_ girls for a few beats too long.

Suddenly, Wally felt something—or rather someone—slam into his back, hard enough to knock the wind out of him. When he received no apology, he half-turned towards the offender, ready to fling out some snide, passive-aggressive comment.

His jaw hung open, the words never leaving his mouth.

It hadn’t been one man, but two. Two men who were either emphatically practicing resuscitation techniques on one another or sucking face. Wally assumed it was the latter.

He felt the pieces neatly click together in his mind, his hands curling into fists at his side. He was going to _kill_ Roy.

“Is something wrong?” Dick asked, frowning with concern.

“Everything’s fine,” Wally replied, but the uncertainty was clear in his voice.

Dick opened his mouth, but whatever he planned to say was swallowed up by a loud gasp. From behind, a pair of hands grabbed Dick by the hips then slowly travelled upwards, the long, spindly fingers making invisible trails along his toned chest. A young, attractive, and decidedly masculine face appeared above the curve of Dick’s shoulder. The stranger sent Wally a dismissive look before leaning in to whisper into Dick’s ear, who stood shell shocked like a trauma victim. Wally noted the way Dick’s breath hitched when the stranger’s tongue darted out, the tip just barely poking the shell of his earlobe.

Wally felt a dark, searing emotion writhe in his chest. _Oh hell no_ , he thought, eyes narrowing dangerously. _This is SO not happening on MY date._

Before Wally fully understood what he was doing, he clawed the stranger’s arms off of Dick and tore him away from the man’s grasp. The stranger blanched as Wally glared at him in warning before striding off the dance floor, tugging Dick along with him.

He gestured to the bartender the moment he reached the stools surrounding the bar. He needed a drink, and he needed it fast.

Dick quietly hopped onto the stool next to his, timidly peering over at him. “Are you okay?”

Wally sighed, using his knuckles to massage his temples. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. It just pissed me off, seeing that random sleazy guy feel you up like it was nothing.” As an afterthought, he added, “You probably didn’t get a good look at him, but he was kind of old. And scuzzy. Believe me, I did you a favor.”

It was a total lie. Wally internally cursed himself. What the hell was he doing?

After a short wait, the bartender slid him a tall glass, beads of moisture already forming near the top. Wally took a sip, savoring the burning sensation as the mixture of alcohols traveled down his system. He carefully lifted the glass with his fingers and offered it to Dick, his lips curving into a small smile. “Want a sip?”

Dick seemed to visibly relax. He smiled in return. “Giving alcohol to a minor? I’m gonna call the police.”

Wally laughed. A pleasant, warm sensation budded within him. “Minor my ass. You’re barely younger than me.”

Dick made a face as the liquid hit his tongue. “Don’t you normally like sugary drinks? This tastes like gasoline.”

“I’m drinking this one for the aftereffect, not the flavor.”

“Planning to get hammered tonight?” Dick cocked his head and fixed him with an expression that bordered on affectionate. He pressed the rim of the glass against Wally’s parted lips and slowly tipped the alcohol into his mouth. Wally gratefully accepted.

“You bet.”

* * *

 Sometime after their tenth or twelfth shared drink, the two of them stumbled back onto the dance floor. The abundance of alcohol had made their movements considerably clumsier, the two of them tripping over their own feet and giggling over everything and nothing. At one point, when one particularly bass-heavy song reached its peak, a cool white mist suddenly poured out from the web of industrial metal pipes that layered the ceiling, flooding the dance floor with vapor.

The mist hung so thick that soon all Wally could see were vague silhouettes and the occasional ray of colored light. He felt a pair of strong arms snake around his waist from behind and his whole body tensed from the sudden intrusion.

"Relax. It's just me." Wally shuddered as a warm breath caressed the tender skin of his ear. It took his alcohol-addled brain a few moments longer than usual to recognize the voice as Dick's.

Wally eased into the embrace, allowing his back to lightly press against the other man's chest. He chuckled softly as Dick nuzzled his cheek against his neck and reflexively shrugged away from the touch. “Dude, that tickles!”

Wally turned to face the other man. Dick’s arms maintained its loose hold around him, his hands clasped at the small of his back. Wally grinned as he noted the disheveled state of Dick’s hair, the tangled locks wildly flying in every direction. He looked silly.

Before he knew it, Wally pitched forward with laughter, his forehead gently bumping against the top of Dick’s head. “Your hair,” was all Wally managed to say before succumbing to a fit of giggles.

His giggling came to an abrupt stop when he felt Dick’s lips brush against his, the touch so fleeting that Wally nearly thought he imagined it. Upon seeing his startled reaction, Dick immediately shied away from him, eyes cast downwards.

Failing to notice his companion’s sudden timidness, Wally absentmindedly licked his upper lip, tasting the residual flavor of the cinnamon schnapps Dick had downed not too long ago. _Not bad_ , he thought. It was spicy with just the right amount of sweetness—a little like Dick himself.

“What was it you told me,” Wally said with a playful grin, the words tumbling from his mouth, “‘If you’re gonna kiss someone, you should do it for real’? How the pot calls the kettle black. I give you a C.”

Dick’s eyes snapped up to meet his, going wide with surprise before narrowing mischievously. Wordlessly, he leaned in once more, their breaths mingling as the gap between them shrunk to nothing. Dick’s tongue experimentally flicked his bottom lip before languidly tracing a path along the valley between Wally’s closed lips.

Any mental protests Wally had up until that moment were swiftly silenced. He parted his mouth, and Dick eagerly accepted the invitation, his hand resting on the back of Wally’s neck, drawing them even closer together. Dick’s hands and mouth explored Wally with such hunger that it nearly overwhelmed him—did Dick _always_ kiss like this?

After some coaxing, Wally finally begun to respond in kind, shyly at first, but more boldly each time he felt Dick moan into his mouth, seemingly hyper-sensitive to his every movement. He felt a small twitch in his groin in response to a particularly drawn out moan. _Huh_ , Wally thought, his brain working at half speed. _That’s new._

To his own surprise, he was panting when they parted for air. It was an amateur move, completely forgetting to breathe, but something about this experience made him feel like a young, awkward teenager again, fumbling and clueless.

Wally had just barely caught his breath before Dick was on him again, tenderly sucking his bottom lip before plunging into his mouth once more. Wally managed to elicit a gasp as he tentatively slipped his hand beneath the hem of Dick’s shirt, the pads of his fingers lovingly grazing the smooth contours of Dick’s well-toned muscles. Rock hard abs, pillow soft lips. Wally smiled into their kiss, and soon afterwards, he felt Dick’s lips similarly curve against his.

Wally couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled from his chest when they parted once more. “Dork,” he heard Dick murmur as he planted another chaste kiss at the corner of his mouth. Wally vaguely noted that Dick’s fingers were looped around the hoops of his jeans, keeping their bodies close.

He buried his face in the curve of Dick’s neck, failing to muffle his laugh even as he pressed his mouth against the hollow above his collarbone. He could hear the pounding of his own heartbeat echoing in his ears. A tingly sensation spread throughout his chest, and Wally was no longer sure whether his woozy lightheadedness was truly caused by the alcohol or … something else.

“Hot damn, dude,” Wally said as he leaned away to look the other in the face. “I’m gonna need a cigarette.”

“That good, huh?” Dick tried to say it in his usual sardonic tone, but his voice hitched and faltered. His cheeks were flushed, his breathing erratic, and his hair even more disheveled than when they had begun. Impulsively, Wally leaned in for another chaste kiss, amazed at how natural it felt, and how effortless it was to stay caught within Dick’s embrace, feeling warm and happy and loved.


	6. In which Dick gets some much-needed advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you all know, I'm gonna be out of town all of next week, so updates will likely come more slowly around that time. Though I'll at least try to get ch. 7 out before things get too hectic...
> 
> Also this is a total tangent, but I bought the Kotobukiya Nightwing figure a little while back, and man is it beautiful. And also very shiny. A shiny Dick. :)
> 
> The only flaw is that the sculptor didn't make Dick's ass as lovely and luscious as some of the artists do. Oh well... /sigh

Wally chugged his second straight bottle from the dozen Evian waters sitting stagnant in Roy's mini fridge, taking some small pleasure in stealing from his traitorous friend. He was somewhat thankful that Roy had been conspicuously absent from the room when he rolled out of bed just minutes prior, his head throbbing and the half-absorbed alcohol still working its way through his system.

In recalling the previous night’s activities, Wally realized that the drunkenness must've hit him full force around midnight since there were large gaps in his memory beyond that point. He remembered things in flashes: getting in an embarrassing spat with another club patron who had been a little _too_ friendly to Dick, Dick's mouth fluttering kisses along his jawline in the backseat of the taxi, the two of them stumbling around campus, leaning against one another for support.

The physical evidence helped fill in the rest. There was an unopened box of cocoa puffs on his desk that he didn't remember buying. He had a sizable bruise on his right forearm—god only knew how _that_ got there. To his mortification, he discovered a hickey below his Adam's apple that he just barely managed to hide with a collared shirt.

He wasn't sure when or how he got back to the dorm, or more worryingly, whether Roy had been present upon his return. He could just imagine the smug expression on Roy's face upon witnessing his sloppy ass barging into the room, hickey and all.

Wally self-consciously fingered the blemish on his neck, his heartrate rising reflexively in response to some forgotten memory. Hell, even his _un_ forgotten memories were triggering feverish physical reactions in all kinds of places. If Wally were a hundred percent honest with himself, he knew that he and Dick had been stretching the boundaries of normal, platonic friendship for a while. He had plenty of other male friends, and if any of them had tried to cuddle with him, he would've kneed them in the gut without a second's hesitation. Even before he and Dick had found themselves in their current predicament, Wally implicitly knew that they were unusually touchy-feely for a pair of "just friends."

But the previous night had been on a completely different level. Even through his intoxicated haze, he remembered feeling anxious and terribly self-conscious, but also oddly comforted and ... elated. It was like something had been pooling inside him for a long, long time and was now finally overflowing. It was impossible to brush the incident off as some cutesy "fake boyfriend" thing like he had with everything else up to that point, and acknowledging that truth excited and terrified Wally all at once.

And when confronted with a scary self-realization, Wally dealt with it in his usual way: by refusing to give it serious thought for as long as he possibly could.

After a few short minutes, he was sitting snug in the center of his mattress, freshly-opened box of cocoa puffs in his lap and Netflix playlist preloaded on his laptop. He had barely gotten through five minutes of the first episode before he received a text from the very last person he wanted to talk to at that moment.

> **Ya Boi Big D**
> 
> You awake?

The normalcy of the question just made Wally panic even more. It took an embarrassing length of time for him to come up with what should’ve been an obvious reply.

> Sure am. What’s up?

> Just FYI, can’t go out tonight. Need to write all ten pages of my comparative law paper by tomorrow. I’m too young to be this stressed.

Wally couldn’t help but feel a slight pang of disappointment—and though it was an ugly thought, a part of him wondered if the paper was an excuse for Dick to avoid him. Before he could follow that train of thought for too long, he received a follow-up message.

> Want to make it a study date?

Wally stared at his phone for a long while, his heartbeat drumming in his ears. He begun to type a response, but immediately deleted it. Then he hesitantly tapped out a few more words before deleting them too with a heavy sigh that morphed into a groan. He finally settled on:

> Eww. I’m allergic to studying.

His thumb hovered over the Send button as Wally felt the sudden compulsion to read and reread his response. Did he sound like his usual self or did it come off like a rejection? Was it obvious that he was totally freaking out?

Wally set his phone down and rubbed his eyelids with his palms, grimacing as they crunched slightly from lack of sleep. “Damnit, Wally, get a hold of yourself,” he muttered before finally sending his text.

The response was nearly instantaneous.

> I’ll make it worth your while.

Wally narrowed his eyes at the cryptic (and weirdly seductive) words. A second later, Dick added:

> I’ll buy pizzas. Plural. And I’ll throw in an order of hot wings because I’m just that nice.

He allowed himself a small smile, feeling somewhat reassured by the familiar, unremarkable suggestion. Without thinking, he replied, “You really know the way to a man’s heart.” The moment he sent the message, his vision tunneled on the word ‘heart’ and he immediately hit the back button in an attempt to abort the text.

Upon seeing that it successfully went through, he buried his face in his pillow and idly wondered if he could use it to suffocate himself.

He was in major, major shit.

* * *

 “Woah. What happened, did your fancy wardrobe catch fire or something?”

Dick almost seemed to blush, retreating even further into his slightly oversized sweater. “Even a stud is allowed to have his off days, okay. And dude, like you’re one to talk.”

Wally accepted the criticism with a sheepish grin. He didn’t need to take a second look at his worn t-shirt and sweatpants to know that they practically screamed “I gave up on myself today.”

They had decided to meet right after sundown at a café on campus that was known for its coffee. Personally, Wally just liked that the staff was always willing to accommodate his requests to add incredible amounts of sugar to his drinks.

Wally had become increasingly jittery in the hours leading up to their meeting. He calmed somewhat now that he was actually conversing with the man, but he still felt like a bundle of nerves.

_Be normal, damnit_ , he mentally admonished himself. Certainly Dick was acting like his usual self—was he really so indifferent about what had transpired the night before? Did he not remember?

"Want me to buy you something?" Dick asked, dragging Wally from his thoughts. He jerked his thumb in the direction of the waiting cashier.

Wally forced a smile. "Thanks, but I'm not so poor that I need you to pay for my three dollar coffees."

He swung his backpack, sagging from the weight of his textbooks, off his shoulders and onto the crook of his arm, inadvertently knocking over the table sugar and salt shakers mid-motion. Wally lunged at the table to pick them up, and at that same moment, Dick stretched his arm out, causing the underside of Wally’s hand to brush over the backs of his fingers.

Wally immediately tugged his hand away, as if burned. Dick’s eyes carefully tracked his movements, widening in surprise at his sudden retreat. For a bare moment, they seemed to narrow and cloud over, crestfallen.

_Shit_.

Wally stood there, slack-jawed. A scramble of frantic apologies rushed him all at once, but he was unable to pick a single one of them. “Sorry,” he finally mumbled, lamely.

After an uncomfortable pause, Dick finally replied, “About what?” There was a bitter edge to his voice, like he was pissed off and half-heartedly trying to hide it.

Wally flinched, as though struck by the words. He absolutely hated making Dick upset—they rarely had serious arguments, but the few times it had occurred were some of the worst days of his life. The silence stretched between them, Wally’s heart beating so fast that he thought it might bust out of his ribcage.

“Well, lookie what we have here. A jester and a queen.”

Wally felt the tension break at the sudden interruption. He never expected to actually be _grateful_ to see Roy strolling towards them at that very moment, leering like he had just happened upon something scandalous.

“Roy,” Wally said, glad for the distraction, “Really _funny_ prank you pulled on me yesterday.” With a more threatening tone, he added, “Hope you enjoy doing laundry.”

Smirking, Roy replied, “I figured you would like it.” His gaze wandered over to Dick, who stared down at his textbook and pointedly ignored the both of them.

Roy glanced over at Wally with a small frown, who simply shrugged in reply, feigning ignorance.

“I’m gonna get something to drink,” Wally said, slowly tiptoeing away from them. “You want anything?”

“I’m good.” Roy’s eyes lingered on the man slumped in the chair next to him. Once Wally was a safe distance away, Roy lowered himself onto the chair across from Dick, giving him a once over. “You look wrecked.”

Dick eyes rolled upwards to look him in the face, his body otherwise unmoving. “Thanks,” he said, dryly.

Unfazed, Roy continued, “Going off of Wally’s drunken babbling when he rolled in last night, it sounds like you finally got some action. Good for you.”

Dick’s brows creased in irritation. “He was completely wasted. It didn’t mean anything.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that…” Roy’s gaze briefly shifted to the front of the store, where Wally was happily chatting with the cashier, oblivious to their conversation. He turned back to face Dick, who was once more crouched over his book. “For fuck’s sake, Grayson, just go for it already.”

When his provocation failed to elicit any sort of reaction from the other man, Roy sighed wearily and continued, “For all his thickheadedness, at the end of the day, Wally is an actual, honest-to-goodness _nice_ person. Even if worse comes to worst, it’s not like he’s gonna disown you. What do you really have to lose?”

He let the question hang in the air between them. Though Dick still insisted on ignoring him, Roy could tell by the downwards twitch of his lips that his words had had some effect on him.

“What’d I miss?” Wally asked as he neared his two friends. He tentatively sipped his overly-sweet frappuccino, wincing as the scalding hot liquid burned his tongue.

Wordlessly, Roy stood up, offering the now-empty seat to Wally. “I’m gonna head out. Try not to work yourselves too hard.” As he walked away, he shot Dick a final concerned glance before making his exit.

“Well, _that_ was weird,” Wally murmured, quirking a brow at the spot where his friend had been standing just moments prior. He shifted his attention to Dick, who was so singularly focused on his work that the bump of his nose was nearly touching the pages of his textbook.

Wally had had time to mull things over while buying the coffee, and now he finally had some idea of what he should say. “Umm, Dick?” he asked, sounding embarrassingly meek.

Dick finally looked up from his book, his face a total blank. Gathering his courage, Wally took a deep breath and said, “Please don’t hate me.”

Dick’s face went from total calm to total shock in record time. Wally hurriedly added, “I mean, I know you said you _can’t_ hate me or something, but you seemed really, really angry just now, and I don’t know why that is, but I feel like it has something to do with what happened last night and maybe I totally screwed things up somehow?”

Wally had to physically clap his hands over his lips to stop himself from talking any longer. _Fuck me and my motormouth_ , Wally thought, feeling the sudden, burning desire to punch himself in the face.

Dick opened his mouth. Then he closed it. And then he stared. All in all, Wally thought that it was probably an appropriate response.

“Okay. Pretend I didn’t say any of that just now.” Wally let out a shaky breath, corralling his chaotic thoughts and allowing the words to flow out naturally. “To be honest, I’m still sort of processing what happened last night. Not in a bad way!” Wally blurted as a slightly pained expression flickered across his friend’s features. “I’m just a little … confused, I guess. Even more than I usually am. But the one thing I _do_ know for sure is that I don’t want things to be weird between us. No matter what happens.”

He gently laid his hand atop Dick’s, the simple gesture instantly causing his whole body to heat up. He prayed to the gods that the blush in his cheeks didn’t look as obvious as it felt. Shyly, Wally went on to say, “Our friendship is … _you_ are way too important for me to mess things up. Like, I seriously think my soul might shrivel up and die if you start giving me the cold shoulder.”

Wally nibbled his bottom lip as he waited for Dick’s response. He could feel the sting of tears forming at the corners of his eyes, which just made the whole experience even worse.

For a long moment, Dick was completely still and silent, his eyes huge. Then he glanced down at their linked hands, and then glimpsed up again at Wally’s face, his lips forming a slow little smile that seemed to light up his whole face, the skin around his eyes crinkling in a way that made Wally smile too.

Wally knew for a fact that his face had to be glowing a humiliating shade of red—his skin felt way too hot _not_ to be. Flustered and a little uncertain, Wally said the first thing that came to his mind. “Can we order the pizza now?”

* * *

>  What were we War-Danes in our yore-days?
> 
> Tribal-Kings! Truly cast that glory past,
> 
> how the counts had courage vast!
> 
> Oft Scyld Scefing shed Eotens
> 
> many sons of mead-seats often.

“What the fuck,” Wally muttered under his breath. He reread the passage, understanding it even less the second time through. Was this supposed to be English?

He leaned back against the cushions of the sofa, asking himself for the millionth time why he couldn’t just take science courses and nothing else. He slammed the book shut with a soft thump and allowed his gaze to stray over to the room’s other occupant, who was curled up on the couch opposite his, eyes closed and breaths steady.

They had decided to hole up in a small study space tucked away in one of the more desolate areas of the student union, the air thick with the smell of pizza and chicken. Dick’s attempts at completing his law paper had proven fairly half-assed thus far. He had decided to take a nap after writing just a third of it, and to Wally’s surprise, Dick brought along the giant prize teddy bear from the carnival to use as a pillow.

“What? It’s comfortable,” Dick had said with an easy grin right before snuggling up against the stuffed toy’s belly and dozing off.

Wally smiled upon hearing Dick let out a cute whining noise as he stirred from his slumber. “Morning, sunshine,” he said as Dick’s eyes peeped opened, squinting at the light overhead.

Dick sat up with a stretch and a yawn. “What time is it?”

“Almost midnight. Which means it’s _my_ turn for a nap.” He pointed to the bear, which had a slight depression on its stomach at the spot where Dick’s head had been resting. Dick tossed it over, the bear’s flailing limbs knocking an empty pizza box to the floor as it sailed across the gap between them.

“Hey!” Dick abruptly yelled as picked the container off the floor. “All the pepperoni pizza is gone!”

Wally smiled apologetically as Dick glowered at him in silent accusation. “Oops? I accidentally ate the rest while you were asleep.”

“What,” Dick replied in the driest tone possible, “Did the pizza slices accidentally fall into your mouth?”

“Yup. And then I accidentally chewed and swallowed.”

Dick consoled himself by nabbing the few remaining cheese slices as Wally shoved the stuffed bear behind his head and stretched his body across the length of the sofa. He noticed that the synthetic fur still carried Dick’s scent, and he unconsciously brought his face closer to it.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of Dick suddenly gaping at him—or more specifically, at something around his chest area. When their gazes met, Dick abruptly turned his face away, seeming suddenly uncomfortable.

When Wally glimpsed downwards, he noticed with rising horror that the collar of his shirt had slipped low enough that his hickey was likely peeking out from just above the hem. As casually as possible, Wally rolled onto his stomach, obscuring the front of his neck from view.

He struggled to think of something, anything to say to break the increasingly awkward silence. To his surprise, Dick beat him to the punch.

“Was it … bad?”

Wally’s eyes flitted over to his friend, who was now staring straight at him, the bottom half of his face hidden behind a loosely-fisted hand. Even without any context or explanation, Wally somehow knew precisely what he was referring to.

“No,” he replied with ease, the corners of his lips tugging into a small smile. Dick smiled in return before dropping his gaze, shyly nibbling on the crust of his pizza slice.

Wally’s eyes blinked and drooped and gradually closed shut. When he reached the edge of unconsciousness, he vaguely processed the feel of someone’s hand caressing his hair, the fingers gently petting his short locks. He reflexively leaned into the comforting touch as it lullabied him to sleep, not stirring even when he felt the soft press of warm lips against his cheek.


	7. In which the desserts table does indeed suit Wally's palate

Wally sighed in pleasure as the brisk early autumn breeze soothed the heat and sweat from his skin. Between classes, schoolwork, and hanging out with friends, it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to find time for exercise. But after all the crap he and Dick had been feeding themselves the past week, he felt disgusting enough to finally squeeze a workout into his schedule.

He froze when the chorus of Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend” begun blaring from the phone hidden in his pants pocket. He brought it to his ear, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat as he answered the call. “Hello?”

“Hey,” said the familiar voice. Curiously, Wally thought he heard a faint mechanical hum in the background. “So Bruce found out about our little beach trip.”

Wally inhaled sharply, a reflexive shudder traveling down his back.

“Exactly,” Dick said with an exasperated sigh. “He’s forcing me to go to a political fundraiser banquet tonight as punishment. He _knows_ I hate the political ones the most.”

“It’s tonight?” Wally asked, unable to mask his disappointment.

“Yeah. It’s being hosted at the manor, so I’m driving over to Gotham now to grab some clothes and pester Alfred before it starts. I’m sorry, Walls, I know tonight was your turn to plan the date…”

“No, it’s okay,” he replied in a voice that said the exact opposite. “We can just postpone it to tomorrow.” In a more upbeat tone, he added, “Have fun at your fancy dinner, jerk. Steal a turkey leg for me.”

Dick’s laugh bordered on a cackle. Wally drew an image of it in his mind’s eye: Dick, with his eyes closed, head thrown back mid-laugh. “It’s for a bunch of old rich stiffs who only eat organic shit, so I doubt Alfred is cooking any food you would like. Unless you’ve developed a sudden craving for kale salad.”

“Ugh, no thank you. Guess I’ll go hungry tonight.”

“Guess so.” After a pause, Dick said much more softly, “I really am sorry.”

Wally felt his fingers clutch the edges of his phone a little more tightly. “Don’t be. Tomorrow’s date will just have to be twice as awesome to make up for it.”

“Then I’ll look forward to it twice as hard.” Wally could hear the smile in his voice, and it made him smile too. They said their goodbyes, and Wally pocketed his phone once more, a bittersweet pain welling up inside him.

Though the two of them had always been extremely close, Wally now began to feel a near-constant sense of longing that was only alleviated when he was in Dick’s presence. Normally, Dick staying in Gotham for a night was no big deal—now, even just thinking about it made his chest ache.

Wally let out a sad puff of air through his nose and contemplated ways to distract himself. Roy was probably available, but he had been actively avoiding Roy since discovering that he had drunkenly narrated to him (in excruciating detail) everything that had happened at the gay club.

He felt his phone vibrate and hastily snatched it from his pocket, half-expecting it to be a text from Dick.

> **(F)Arty**
> 
> Nice headband, loser.

Wally’s hand automatically shot up to touch the stretchy green strip of cloth overlapping his hairline. He scanned his immediate area and spotted Artemis waving at him from a short distance ahead of the path. Curving his hand around the side of his mouth, he yelled, “Thanks! It complements my eyes.”

Even in the waning sunlight, he could still see her nose wrinkle in mock disgust. “Eww, you’re all shiny and gross. You look like you’re melting.”

Wally didn’t doubt it—even with the headband, he could still feel his hair stick to his forehead, the moist locks occasionally dripping sweat. “Nah, that’s just my skin’s natural luster.”

Artemis’s lips curled into a smirk. She half-jogged to close the gap before saying, “I sure hope you shower before meeting up with your new boyfriend tonight. And by the way, I know that this will be the sixth night _in a row_ that you two are going out together. I’ve been counting.”

“Of course you have,” Wally said with a sigh, his mood dampening instantly.

Artemis waited, hand on hip. She cocked a brow as Wally continued to mope in silence. “Umm … in case you forgot how this works, this is the part where you violently deny everything I said?”

Wally crossed his arms and ducked his head, as though to make himself smaller. “Can’t deny it if it’s true.”

For a moment, Artemis stared at him with a slightly puzzled expression, as if she hadn’t fully understood what he had said. Then all at once, she took a step back, her mouth almost comically forming a perfect O shape. “No way!”

“Way,” he said with a sad little smile.

She took a couple additional steps backwards, hands outstretched with her palms facing him. “Wait, wait, wait. So you two really _are_ dating?”

“Yeah,” Wally replied, surprised by his own confidence in the answer. “It didn’t exactly start out that way, but now...” He trailed off, hoping Artemis would be able to piece together the rest on her own.

Cautiously, Artemis asked, “Have you two, you know…?”

Wally’s eyes widened at her unspoken words. “No!” he yelled so loudly that Artemis momentarily blanched. He cleared his throat and in a quieter voice said, “No. We, umm, made out a little but that’s it.”

She tilted her head in curiosity, her fingers thoughtfully cupping her chin. “Hmm. So,” her eyes wandered to his face, studying him, “Do you officially play for the other team now?”

Wally nearly rolled his eyes, despite the gravity of their conversation. “I don’t think I’m gay, if that’s what you’re asking. To be honest, Dick is the only guy that I’ve … felt this way about.”

"And how exactly _do_ you feel? Is it like a schoolgirl crush or do you get all hot and bothered when he's around or--"

"What? No!" Wally huffed, aggravated by her blunt questioning. "What are you, my therapist?"

Artemis rebuffed his sarcasm with an easy shrug of the shoulders. "Well gee, forgive me for being a little curious. And don’t try to dodge my question."

"I don't know," Wally mumbled, his bottom lip protruding in a petulant pout. "If I have to describe it ... I guess being around him has always made me happy, but lately, it's made me _really_ happy and a little nervous too. And I've also been thinking about him, like, all the freaking time. It's actually kind of creepy." He sighed, timidly casting a sideways glance at Artemis as he asked, "Do I sound completely crazy right now?"

"Not completely crazy. Definitely no crazier than any other person who's ever had it bad for someone else."

Wally sighed once more, this one sounding slightly more miserable than the last. Artemis lightly elbowed him in the ribs. "Come on, wipe that pathetic look off your face. You're dating your hot best friend! You should be twice as idiotically happy as you usually are."

"Well, I did only have this epiphany in the past couple days. Give a guy a little time to adjust.” He pointedly narrowed his eyes at her as he added, “You're certainly handling this well, considering that last week you were all like 'he's gonna eat you alive!'"

"Oh I definitely still think you're in _way_ over your head." Artemis grinned as her comment provoked a scowl from Wally. "He's got more game than five of you combined. But if you like him as much as you say, then I guess there's no stopping you."

Wally stared, amazed at his friend's easy acceptance of his situation. In the back of his mind, he wondered how Dick would react if he admitted his feelings upfront.

"So you two got anything special planned for tonight?" Artemis asked, interrupting his thoughts. "Don't bother hiding it since you know I'll find out anyway."

"Nah," Wally replied, frowning. "Dick's got to go to some upscale fundraiser thing at the manor. And Bruce is pissed so he can't weasel his way out of it."

"So what?"

Wally blinked. "So ... what?"

Artemis rolled her eyes and reached into her purse, her car keys dangling from her pinched fingers just moments later. "Do I have to spell it out for you? If you _want_ him, then go _get_ him."

* * *

Wally cleared his throat nervously as he stood at the front door of the manor, hand hovering uncertainly in front of him before finally landing on the doorbell to his side. He glanced back at the expansive courtyard behind him, which now resembled a car park with the mass of luxury vehicles now eating up every inch of available space. Amongst the Bentleys and Audis, Artemis’s beat up Mustang stuck out like a sore thumb.

Moments later, the door swung open with a slow groan. Upon seeing him, Alfred’s brows raised ever so slightly before smoothing to his usual impassive expression. “Good evening, Wallace. Is Master Richard expecting you?”

“Not exactly.” Wally rubbed the back of his neck, putting on his most charming of boyish grins. “Mind letting me in anyway?”

The corner of Alfred’s lips twitched, displaying the barest hint of a smile. He stepped aside, allowing just enough room for Wally to slip past him and into the unusually bright hallway beyond. “The other guests are located in the main ballroom. I trust you know the way?”

Wally strode inside with a confident nod, maintaining eye contact with Alfred as he crossed the threshold. “Any food in there that I’d actually like?”

“The desserts table should suit your palate.”

“You know me too well,” Wally said with a laugh as he made his way through the foyer. He reached the ballroom a good minute earlier than he expected—it was considerably easier to keep track of where he was going now that Bruce had actually bothered to turn the lights on in his house.

Wally entered the bustling room, an anxious lump forming in his throat as he scanned the crowds within the dome-like space. There was so much jewelry that it twinkled everywhere he looked, the glint from the gems refracting light from the ornate chandeliers high above them. He inched along the circular wall of the room, trying to attract as little attention as possible.

“Hello, Wally.”

Wally stopped dead in his tracks, his heart seizing up in his chest. He carefully glanced to his side, anxiety blossoming into full-blown dread upon catching sight of Bruce strolling towards him, mere feet away from where he stood.

Bruce’s eyes trailed downwards, then retraced its path back up to meet Wally’s petrified gaze. “Nice suit.”

Wally glanced down at his borrowed tuxedo, the most formal outfit he could get his hands on at the last minute, and self-consciously toyed with the tail of his tie. Even now, he still had trouble discerning whether Bruce was attempting to be polite or if he was just being flat-out condescending. “Umm, thanks?” he replied, sounding as uncertain as he felt.

Bruce swished the dark wine in his cupped glass and brought the rim to his lips, his eyes glued on Wally the entire time. “Did you and Dick have fun on your little joyride last weekend?”

A traitorous blush crept onto Wally’s face. _Of course_ Bruce knew he was involved—he was probably able to sniff him out like a bloodhound. “In my own defense,” he replied, the words falling out a little too quickly, “That was _so_ not my idea.”

“But you didn’t dissuade him either.”

Wally cringed at the other man’s accusatory tone, reflexively shying away from him. Though both he and Dick had been scolded by Bruce countless times in the past, to Wally, it never felt any less terrifying. After an uncomfortable stretch of silence, he risked glimpsing at Bruce’s face and was surprised to find an amused smirk on his lips.

Bruce used his free hand to gesture towards the opposite side of the room. “Dick is being accosted near the hors d’oeuvres. Escort him back to campus, if you want.” His smirk widened as he added, “I think he’s been punished enough for one night.”

Wally remained rooted in place as Bruce brushed past him, their shoulders lightly touching. “I’d ask you to keep Dick out of trouble, but I know that’s beyond your capabilities.”

Once he was certain he was no longer within Bruce’s peripheral vision, Wally childishly stuck his tongue out at the man’s retreating back before nudging his way to the other end of the crowded room.

As one of the few young faces in attendance, Dick was easy to distinguish from the rest of the guests once Wally knew where to look. To his dismay, he noted that Dick was currently trapped within the arms of some older redheaded woman, the two of them stiffly swaying to-and-fro to the nearby melody of the string quartet band. Dick casually glanced in his direction, eyes widening upon noticing Wally’s approach.

Wally bit his lip to stifle a laugh as Dick mouthed the words ‘save me’ over the woman’s shoulder. Answering his friend’s plea, Wally abruptly cut in between them, hooking his arm with Dick’s to drag him from the woman’s clutches.

“Sorry, miss,” Wally said, putting on an apologetic smile. “Bruce told me there’s a private matter that Dick needs to attend to. Very urgent.”

“Why doesn’t Bruce tell me that himself?” the lady asked in a haughty tone, but Wally and Dick were already halfway across the ballroom floor, arms loosely linked as they marched straight to the exit.

“Friend of yours?” Wally asked with a sly grin, leaning close so Dick could hear him over the nearby chatter.

Dick rolled his eyes. “That was Vicki Vale, the infamous journalist. She only ever bothers to talk to me when she has a million questions about Bruce’s personal life.”

With Dick leading the way, the two of them eventually emerged from the manor’s back exit, which guided them directly to the graveled road that cut through the surrounding forest. Dick let out a relieved sigh as they strolled along the path. He immediately set about unfastening his tie, gracelessly shoving it into the pocket of his suit jacket.

Wally’s eyes lingered on the newly exposed skin of Dick’s neck, swiftly diverting his gaze when Dick turned to address him. With a hesitant smile, Dick asked, “Not that I don’t appreciate the rescue, but what’s with the surprise appearance? Last I checked, you hate going to these formal events even more than I do.”

Wally shrugged, feigning indifference. “Just felt like seeing you, I guess.”

He tensed as he felt Dick’s eyes scrutinize him, searching for meaning behind his words. “Oh,” he finally replied, his voice betraying no emotion.

Fighting the nervousness creeping up within him, Wally quickly added, “I mean, you _are_ cheating me out of a date after all.”

“True,” Dick said with a chuckle before falling into a comfortable silence.

Wally stumbled slightly as a rock slipped underneath his heel. He felt the back of his hand graze against Dick’s knuckles, the tiny, fleeting sensation instantly filling his thoughts. With a rattled breath, he steeled his nerves and grasped at the air until he caught Dick’s hand mid-swing, their fingers intertwining with a gentle squeeze.

Dick abruptly froze, forcing Wally to stop beside him. Their eyes locked, Dick staring up at him with the same searching look as before. Wally opened his mouth, his jaw hanging dumbly as a million thoughts flooded his mind at once. Words always seemed to fail him when he needed them most—he either said too little to adequately express himself or so much that the message was lost in a freight train of half-formed ideas.

After several failed starts, Wally decided to speak with his actions instead, steeling himself once more as he took a small step forward, closing the short distance separating them. He slipped his free hand beneath Dick’s jacket and rested it upon the curve of his waist, drawing their bodies close enough that he could feel the heat from the other man’s skin even through the layers of clothing.

Though Dick’s lips were chapped slightly from the cool night air, they remained just as soft as Wally remembered. He tasted faint traces of strawberry on Dick’s tongue and smiled, recalling the tray of fruit tarts he had briefly glimpsed in the ballroom.

They parted with a sigh, their breaths visibly mingling in the air between them. Wally closed his eyes and hid his face against the side of the other man’s head, feeling a flutter of nervousness as he waited for his reaction.

Wally felt a pair of arms hook the back of his neck, and he cautiously leaned back, gauging Dick’s response.

Dick wore a look that was becoming increasingly familiar, the one that made Wally’s face flush instantly and his chest seize up, as though his heart were on the verge of giving out. This time, Dick was the one to close the gap, pulling Wally’s parted mouth downwards to meet his.

Wally’s heartbeat filled his ears, frenzied and uncertain at first, then gradually steadying. After their third, fourth, fifth kiss, he was so lost in the feeling of it that all his other senses dulled, leaving only touch, and heat, and the sweet ache in his chest that threatened to overwhelm him completely.


	8. In which Dick and Wally become a little closer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, I'm so sorry this update took so long to get posted! My life has gotten pretty topsy-turvy the past couple weeks, and unfortunately, it doesn't look like it's going to let up anytime soon. But there's only one chapter left after this, and I'll try to get it out as soon as I can. :)
> 
> Secondly, thanks again to everyone who has commented on this story! I keep saying on Twitter that I'm now ruined for other fandoms because my expectations for feedback will be too high. Seriously, thank you all! ;-;

Wally held the steering wheel with a loosened grip as he slowly spun it, feeling oddly satisfied as the boat’s bow sliced a neat arc across the water. The sun had been reduced to an orange sliver in the horizon, painting the sky with soft pastel hues that seemed to shift ever so slightly each time he glanced up.

“See? Driving this thing is a piece of cake.”

Wally smiled as he felt a pair of arms snake around his waist from behind. He leaned into the embrace as he replied, “Yup, it sure is easy when there’s absolutely nothing else around.”

For emphasis, Wally gestured at the open water in front of them. They were stationed far enough from the shore that there were no obstructions in their immediate area, but close enough that they still had a decent view of the Gotham cityscape beyond the harbor.

Dick had somehow managed to convince Bruce to turn a blind eye to the fact that the two of them had skipped all their classes that day in favor of hanging out in Gotham—and astoundingly, he had even agreed to let them use his private yacht. The only warning Bruce had given them was his standard “break anything and you’re grounded until you’re thirty” line that he had been threatening them with since they were twelve years old.

Dick laid his chin atop his shoulder, his fingers absentmindedly toying with the buttons of Wally’s vest. “Wanna head below deck? It’s getting kinda chilly.”

Wally loosened his grip on the wheel just as Dick unwrapped his arms, moving to cut the engine. The boat slowed to a halt, swaying slightly from occasional bumps in the water.

Wally glanced at his wristwatch as he descended the staircase to the lower level. “Perfect timing. Dinner should be juuuust about ready.”

“Finally,” Dick said with a grin, jogging to catch up with the other man, “It better be good after all that time you spent holed up down there.”

Wally shrugged, his lips turning in a sheepish smile. “Well, you know what my cooking is like so … adjust your expectations accordingly.”

After proudly declaring that he would valiantly take it upon himself to cook dinner for the two of them, Wally had spent a good chunk of the evening confined to the kitchen in the lower deck. At one point, Dick had become curious enough that he tried to sneak a peek at the food, but Wally quickly shooed him out of the room.

A sweet aroma hung thick within the closed confines of the boat’s interior. Dick took a seat at the dining table, eyeing Wally with interest as the sounds of clanging and scraping echoed from the kitchen. He emerged moments later with a serving platter cradled between his hands.

Dick squinted at the little brown pellet-shaped objects piled onto the plate, his jaw dropping once they were close enough to be identified. “ _Tater tots_?” Dick exclaimed, instantly bursting into laughter. “Man, where did you even get these? A high school cafeteria?”

“Hey!” Wally pouted, mildly miffed by his reaction. “Tater tots are good, okay? And I’ve seen you eat McDonalds hash browns, which are practically the same thing, so don’t even.”

Wally set the plate down directly in front of Dick and crossed his arms, waiting expectantly. Dick indulged him, flashing a teasing smile before casually tossing a tater tot into his mouth. He chewed slowly and thoughtfully, purposefully making a show of it before finally swallowing. “Hmm. Not bad.”

“Told you,” Wally replied smugly as he scooped up a few tater tots for himself.

He leaned his hip against the edge of the table as he ate, oblivious to Dick’s appreciative glances, his eyes slowly roaming from Wally’s face to his torso, then back again. “If I had known that you look so good in my clothes, I would’ve let you borrow all my outfits.”

Wally turned slightly away from the other man, his face burning with embarrassment at the sudden compliment. The tailored vest felt a little snug around his waist, but otherwise the outfit was surprisingly comfortable. “I find it weird that your clothes fit me. I mean, I _am_ taller than you.”

“Barely,” Dick replied with a flippant wave of his hand. “And we used to borrow each other’s clothes all the time when we were younger, remember?”

Wally stilled as a wealth of half-faded memories resurfaced in his mind. He vaguely recalled borrowed sweaters and jackets, and accessories that changed hands so often that they never seemed to know who originally owned what.

“Guess we’ve gone full circle, huh?” Wally asked in a quieter voice, a slow smile spreading across his lips.

Dick rested his head atop a propped hand, his lips curving to match Wally’s smile. “Guess so.”

After a prolonged moment, Wally’s gaze dropped to the floor, his face flushed with embarrassment. He popped one last tater tot into his mouth before hurriedly shuffling back into the kitchen, mumbling an excuse about needing to check on the rest of the food as he exited.

_Get your shit together_ , Wally thought to himself as he needlessly poked at a pot of cooked pasta with a toothpick. Dick had been throwing him furtive glances all day, and it was putting Wally majorly on edge—even now, he could feel the distinct, tingly sensation of eyes carefully observing his every movement. He took a deep breath as he transferred the food to a bowl, willing his nerves to settle.

“Let me guess, mac and cheese?” Dick asked with a playful grin as Wally re-entered the dining area, serving tray delicately balanced on one hand.

Wally set the tray onto the center of the table, throwing the other man a confident smirk. “Wrong. Don’t underestimate me.”

Dick leaned forward with his elbows, inching closer till he could peek over the wide rim of the bowl. It appeared to be ravioli coated in butter instead of sauce. A sweet, nutty aroma wafted into the air. He looked up at Wally, frowning uncertainly.

In response, Wally simply handed him a fork. “Just try it, okay?”

Dick accepted the fork and used it to shovel a single ravioli from off the top of the pile. He paused for a moment, inspecting it on his fork, before cautiously sliding it into his mouth. The soft pasta shell gave way easily, and Dick’s face brightened as the pleasantly sweet taste of buttersquash filled his mouth.

“Well?” Wally asked once Dick finished his first bite, voice wavering slightly. “Is it good?”

“Actually … yeah.” Dick stabbed a pair of raviolis with his fork, eagerly devouring them moments later. “Huh, I’m impressed. I thought the most sophisticated thing you could make was, like, spaghetti and meatballs.”

Wally rolled his eyes at the backhanded compliment. “Says the guy who eats cereal 24/7 when there’s no one around to cook for him.”

“Oh, like you don’t.”

Wally pointedly ignored his provocation and finally dug into the ravioli himself. He had planned to get plates for the both of them, but they seemed content taking turns eating directly from the serving bowl. The two of them hesitated when they reached the very last ravioli at the bottom.

“You take it,” Wally offered, using his fork to scoot the ravioli in the other man’s direction.

Dick speared it through its middle and paused, letting his fork hang in the air between them. Then, with a mischievous glint in his eyes, he said, “We can share it.” To demonstrate his point, he took a bite then tilted the fork in Wally’s direction in silent invitation.

Wally’s eyes warily hovered between Dick’s face and the partially-eaten ravioli, his throat constricting in nervousness. He might have been new to the whole “getting hit on by guys” thing, but even he understood exactly what Dick was trying to do.

“You bit off like two-thirds of it,” Wally mumbled shyly before lowering his head and taking the food into his mouth, his front teeth lightly scraping against the metal of Dick’s fork.

Before he could retreat, he felt Dick’s hand cup the back of his head and pull him even further downwards till the tips of their noses gently bumped. Dick’s tongue darted out, slowly and deliberately licking the corner of Wally’s lips.

“There are crumbs around your mouth,” he explained with a wicked grin. “You’re such a messy eater.” He leaned in once more, their lips lightly brushing, the tip of his tongue tracing the bend of Wally’s bottom lip.

“I knew this was a trap,” Wally whined, swallowing the last morsel of the ravioli. Dick smirked before taking advantage of his parted mouth, the rest of Wally’s complaints eclipsed by a soft moan.

At some point, Wally realized he had ended up on Dick’s lap, his arms loosely tied around the other’s waist. Their kisses gradually became wetter—to the point that it sounded a little obscene to Wally’s ears—as Dick stopped to suck on the tender flesh of his lips whenever they parted, each time seeming more slow and sensual than the last. In the back of his mind, Wally foggily noted that Dick seemed to have a fixation on his bottom lip in particular.

Wally sighed contentedly as he felt Dick thumb the small fuzzy hairs at the base of his hairline. He caught a whiff of an odd scent—sweet but mixed with something smoky and acrid. Was that … cinnamon?

Wally’s eyes shot open as he sprung out of Dick’s lap with a yelp, the other man freezing up in shock as he did so. “The pie!” Wally yelled as he staggered to the kitchen. He immediately tugged the oven door open, shielding his face as a small puff of black smoke billowed out from the gap.

He carefully slid the pie out from its rack, his face falling as he caught sight of the coal black edges of the crust. “At least the middle part is still edible.” He pouted piteously, using a knife to salvage the pie’s center.

“Aww,” Dick cooed, patting him on the back. “You even made me dessert.”

“Made _us_ dessert,” Wally corrected, pointedly serving up two separate helpings. “But because I love to spoil you…” He opened the freezer door with a flourish, retrieving the gallon of vanilla ice cream hidden within. He scooped a chunk of ice cream for each of them, plopping it onto the warm, syrupy apple slices pooling out from under the pie crust.

Dick used the edge of his spoon to cut through the crust, picking up a bit of melted ice cream along the way. “I swear, I’m gonna become a diabetic dating you.”

“If it bothers you so much, then I could eat your share.” Wally reached over with his spoon, but Dick nimbly dodged his hand, lifting the plate off the counter and escaping to the couch beyond the dining area.

Wally followed his lead, instinctively feeling a prickle of anxiety when taking the empty seat beside Dick. He noticed Dick quietly humming a vaguely familiar tune as they ate, seeming unusually cheery. While distracted with the last few bites on his plate, he felt something cold press against his cheek and reflexively drew away in surprise.

Dick grinned cheekily. His spoon sat in his outstretched hand, a half-melted bump of ice cream floating within the shallow bowl.

“Not cool, man,” Wally mumbled, flustered. He reached up to wipe the ice cream residue off his face with the back of his wrist, but stopped when Dick suddenly grabbed his forearm and leaned towards him, licking the cream off with a flick of his tongue. After a hesitant pause, Dick leaned in once more, pressing a chaste kiss against the corner of his lips.

“You’re really fixated on my mouth, huh?” Wally asked with a smile, his breathlessness betraying the nervous fluttering in his chest.

Dick chuckled, his warm breaths tickling Wally’s face. “Don’t worry, I like other parts of you too.”

Wally gaped, stuttering a few times before finally managing to spit out, “Dude, seriously?”

Dick laughed and kissed him on the nose, which Wally wrinkled in response. “I like everything about your face,” he said in a low voice, resting his arms on the curve of his shoulders. His eyes narrowed as he added, “And I like how sensitive your neck is.”

To demonstrate his point, he nipped at the flesh just above Wally’s collarbone, drawing a startled gasp. Wally tangled his fingers in Dick’s hair in silent encouragement, their apple pies abandoned on the table next to them.

Wally felt Dick press his palm against his chest, forcing him to lean backwards until the back of his head lightly thudded onto the arm of the couch. Dick was on top of him mere moments later, Wally immediately conscious of the other man’s weight against his chest.

Dick smirked as he caught sight of the blemish he had created a few days prior, a suspiciously predatory gleam in his eyes. He gently kissed the skin around the mark before finally kissing the hickey itself, his hands slowly sliding up the sides of his chest, as though attempting to feel him through the layers of clothing. Wally struggled to keep his breathing steady, his mind reeling. He wasn’t expecting Dick to be quite so … aggressive.

Dick sat up, straddling Wally by the hips, and shrugged his suede blazer off his shoulders, letting it slip off his arms and pool onto the floor. He immediately set to work on freeing Wally from his vest, brows furrowing as the task proved to be trickier than expected.

Wally rested his hands on the other man’s hips, a slow, teasing grin forming on his mouth. “Not so keen on my outfit _now_ , are you?”

“Oh, I’m definitely still liking the clothes,” Dick replied, smiling in satisfaction as the last button finally popped out from its hole. “But I’m even more interested in seeing you out of them.” His smile upgraded to a smirk as his words had the desired effect on Wally, who let out an odd squawking noise, his cheeks instantly glowing a lovely shade of pink.

With an easy laugh, Dick helped Wally out of the vest, noting with relief that only a simple turtleneck sweater remained. He experimentally dipped his fingers beneath the hem of the sweater, touching smooth skin and toned muscle before he felt Wally wriggle beneath him.

“Geez,” Wally grumbled, cheeks turning even hotter. “Are you this grope-y with everyone you date?”

“Kind of.” Dick rolled the sweater up to Wally’s midriff and admired the familiar contours of his abdomen, his hip bones jutting out attractively and forming a shallow trench that disappeared beneath the waistband of his jeans. Dick bent down, showering gentle kisses across his skin and relishing the way Wally’s breath hitched when he touched particularly sensitive areas. “You’re definitely a lot more fun to tease than most other people I’ve dated.”

Wally lightly bopped Dick on the back of his head and half-heartedly attempted to squirm out from underneath him. He ceased his struggle when Dick clamped his hands down on his shoulders, grabbing a fistful of sweater in each hand and pulling upwards. Wally gave in to his wordless command, clawing at his own back to tug the neck of the sweater over his head, then off his chest completely.

He shivered at the sudden exposure, failing to bite back a blush as he felt the weight of Dick’s gaze poring over every inch of his bare torso. Wally had been shirtless around the other man too many times to count, but that fact did nothing to soothe the tension in his throat or the thundering of his heartbeat in his ears.

He reached up with clammy hands, grabbing at the spot where Dick’s polo bunched up at his waist before dipping beneath the waistband of his jeans. Wally pulled at the material, yanking until the bottom edge was finally untucked. Dick helped the rest of the way, freeing himself of the shirt and tossing it onto the growing pile on the floor.

Wally laid his palm flat against the center of Dick’s naked chest, smiling when he felt him let out a shaky breath in response. “So … we’re really doing this.”

Dick leaned back, the couch creaking slightly from the shift in pressure. He grabbed the hand pressed to his chest, carefully interlacing their fingers as he did so. “Only if you want to,” Dick said, sounding unusually meek.

Wally gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “I do,” he replied, then brought Dick’s fingers to his lips, pressing soft kisses on the curves of his knuckles. He glanced off to the side and added in a more embarrassed tone, “You’re gonna have to help me out, though, since this is … uncharted territory for me.”

“I figured as much,” Dick replied with a warm laugh. He leaned forward once more, his hands running up Wally’s sides. “I’ll lead. You just sit back and look pretty.”

Wally pouted, brows furrowed in mock irritation. He opened his mouth to retort, but a sharp intake of breath swallowed his complaints as Dick’s fingers traveled from his sides to his chest, his thumbs rubbing slow circles around the perimeter of his nipples. Wally bit the inside of his lip when the pads of Dick’s thumbs finally brushed against his hardened nubs, fighting to suppress a moan. Wally’s hands met around the middle of Dick’s back, his fingers clasping loosely and drawing their bodies closer together.

A smile flickered on Dick’s mouth as he left a trail of wet kisses down Wally’s chest and stomach, occasionally stopping to nip and lick at the bumps and curves he encountered along the way. He spent a particularly long time teasing the area around Wally’s hipbone, where he seemed unusually ticklish.

Between noticeably labored breaths, Wally muttered, “I’m not a lollipop, you know. I don’t have a bubblegum center.”

Dick chuckled as he craned his neck to meet Wally’s gaze, gently resting his cheek against the other’s stomach. “Could’ve fooled me. You’re very lickable.” He made his point by tilting his head downwards, poking his tongue out and slowly dragging the tip of it along the nearest patch of skin. He smiled as Wally let out a quiet whine in reply.

“Umm, Dick?” Wally asked, so softly that he almost didn’t hear him. He raised his head once more, lifting a brow in confusion when Wally suddenly turned to the side, his face burning red.

A certain thought popped into Dick’s head. He shifted his weight to his knees and palms, crawling downwards on all fours till a rather noticeable bulge in Wally’s pants entered his field of vision. He glanced up at Wally again, but he now had his forearm draped over his eyes, his bottom lip caught between his teeth.

Even with slightly shaky fingers, Dick still managed to undo the button and zipper of Wally’s jeans with relative ease, Wally barely moving a muscle as Dick peeled the folds of his jeans away from the front of his boxers.

Wally was already mostly hard, a moist spot darkening the fabric near his waistband. Steeling his nerves, Dick used his hands to grip the sides of Wally’s hips then pressed his mouth against the darkened spot, using his lips and tongue to suck through the cloth.

Wally’s leg jolted from the sudden stimulation, a string of muttered curse words spilling from his lips. Dick struggled to suppress his laughter, his shoulders shaking slightly from the effort. He languidly traced the outline of Wally’s cock with his tongue, his grin widening upon feeling Wally’s fingers sink into his hair, silently urging him onwards.

Dick rolled Wally’s jeans to his knees, then hooked his fingers over the hem of his boxers, tugging them downwards. He abruptly stopped and glanced up at the other man, asking with a careful tone, “You didn’t, like … catch anything, did you?”

Wally’s eyes snapped down to meet his, mouth agape. “Dude. Are you seriously asking me that?”

Dick averted his gaze, embarrassed. “Sorry. Force of habit.”

“Uh huh,” Wally replied, sounding unimpressed. “Way to kill the mood. I think I wilted a little.”

“Well, that’s no good,” Dick said with a smirk. “I’ll have to make it up to you.” He resumed his task of undressing the other man, pulling at the fabric until Wally’s cock peeked out from underneath it, precum already dribbling from the tip.

Dick gently curled his hand around the shaft and brought his mouth to the head, wiping off the trail of precum with a slow lick. He dragged his tongue down its length, lightly kissing the skin when he reached the base, and then wrapped his lips around Wally's ballsack, sucking on the sensitive flesh while simultaneously stroking the ridged border of the head with his thumb. He winced when Wally yanked his hair in response, before easing his grip once more and apologetically caressing the injured strands.

Dick pulled away with a slick pop, a thin string of saliva trailing from his bottom lip as he drew back. Without warning, he ducked his head once more, taking the tip fully into his mouth and to the entrance of his throat, stopping just short of gagging. Wally’s pelvis jerked upwards, a choked gasp erupting from his mouth, and Dick had to clamp Wally down by the hips to stop him from driving his cock in any deeper. He could feel Wally throbbing in his mouth, and his own cock twitched in reply, painfully restrained under the tight material of his pants.

Dick teased the tip with one last flick of his tongue as he withdrew, earning another soft groan from Wally. Draping his chest over the edge of the couch, Dick bent down and sifted through the pile of discarded clothing, eventually reemerging with a cylindrical tube loosely pinched between his fingers.

Wally squinted at it with a perplexed expression, his eyes widening in shock upon recognition. “Wait. Were you seriously just walking around with _lube_ in your pockets this whole time?”

“Yup,” Dick casually replied, flicking the cap open with his thumb. He rolled his eyes as he added, “Don’t give me that look. It _did_ come in handy, didn’t it?”

Dick reached down with his free hand to unbutton his jeans, but stopped when Wally suddenly sprung up and grabbed his wrist. “Umm,” Wally began, swallowing the lump in his throat. “Is it alright if I … you know, do this part myself? I mean, it isn’t exactly fair if you’re the one who does all the work…”

He trailed off awkwardly as he waited for a response. Dick smiled and leaned in to kiss Wally on the crease of his brow before wordlessly guiding his hands to the front of his pants.

Wally fought to control his breathing as he fumbled with the button and zipper. The words “holy shit” ran through his head over and over again as he pulled both the pants and boxers down at once, revealing Dick’s very erect cock.

Wally stared at it for a long moment, his mind a total blank. He finally broke free from his daze when he felt Dick press the lube into his palm, staring at him expectantly. Wally gingerly lifted the tube and squeezed it between his fingers, pooling the viscous goo onto his middle finger. He used his thumb to spread the lube around his pointer and middle fingers as Dick rested his forearms on his shoulders, burying his face in the bed of hair at the top of his head. Wally could feel Dick’s cock grazing his stomach and tried his hardest to ignore it, lest his brain shut down completely.

Wally blindly grasped at Dick’s bottom, using his dry hand to gently cup his rounded asscheek. It felt soft and smooth, despite the toned muscle beneath the skin. He carefully parted his cheeks and reached over with his other hand, prodding at the entrance with a lube-coated finger. The tip went in with little resistance, but Wally still paused to judge the other man’s response.

When there was no visible reaction, Wally hooked his finger, delicately stretching the taut muscle. After a few pulls, he carefully inserted the tip of the second finger and rubbed in circles, feeling the tension slowly begin to ease.

“You can go in deeper, you know,” Dick murmured against his hair, his breath ragged. “It won’t hurt if you do it slowly.”

Wally nodded, gulping anxiously as he pushed his fingers in as far as they could go, coating his insides with the sticky substance. He experimentally spread both fingers apart, surprised at how loose the muscles already were. He felt Dick sigh and thrust backwards into his hand, the arousal shooting straight to Wally’s groin.

_Oh god_ , Wally thought, hazily. _This is really gonna happen._

Dick whispered Wally’s name, the desire in his voice seemingly mirroring Wally’s thoughts. Dick leaned back and grabbed both of Wally’s wrists, prompting Wally to pry his fingers out from inside him.

The both of them helped each other fully kick their pants off from their legs, before hastily tossing the clothes aside and readjusting themselves onto the couch. Wally rested his hands upon the sides of Dick’s waist as he asked, “You ready?”

“You should be asking yourself that,” Dick replied with a smirk.

Wally regarded him an unamused look. Dick’s expression softened, and he bent down to press a kiss on his forehead. “Don’t worry,” he said, reassuringly. “I’m ready.”

With one hand on Dick’s hip and the other around the base of his own cock, Wally helped Dick position himself, slowly guiding the other man. His chest seized the moment he felt Dick lower himself onto him, his toes immediately curling in response to the heat and the pressure. He couldn’t help the low, drawn out moan that escaped his lips, nor the desperate upward thrust of his hips.

Dick enveloped him fully, shuddering when he lowered himself all the way to his hilt. He circled his arms around Wally’s neck and rocked his hips, riding his cock at a slow, steady rhythm. Wally matched his pace, the sounds of skin slapping skin mingling with their increasingly uneven breaths.

Wally gripped Dick’s cock, drawing a loud moan from the other man as he pumped it to the same tempo as his thrusts. Wally hissed through gritted teeth as he felt Dick clench around him, and his hips bucked wildly, the burst of stimulation overwhelming them both.

Dick pitched forward, wrapping his arms even more tightly around his neck. He whispered Wally’s name once more, in a voice so sweet and seductive that Wally fluttered kisses all over his arms and shoulders and every inch of exposed skin available to him.

The two of them moved at an increasingly erratic pace as they felt the pleasure build inside them. Wally knew he was already close to the edge—he had resorted to closing his eyes and blocking out the visual stimulation in an attempt to last longer. He could feel Dick’s cock twitching in his hand, his fingers covered in precum, and he quickened the timing of his movements, pumping him at a frantic rhythm while hitting the spot inside Dick that seemed to draw the loudest moans.

Dick buried his face in the crook of Wally’s shoulder as he came with a muffled cry, hot semen spilling all over Wally’s hand and dripping onto his stomach. Dick’s muscles tightened around Wally’s cock as he orgasmed and it felt so good that Wally came with a shudder after a few short thrusts, Dick’s name on his lips as the pleasure peaked and jolted through him.

Wally held Dick close to him, his chin resting on the other man’s shoulder as he regained his breath. When he had calmed down enough to speak, the only thing he managed to say was, “Wow.”

Dick chuckled, his voice sounding a little croaky after all their exertion. “Yeah. Same here.”

Wally sighed, enjoying the pleasant tingle traveling from his groin to his legs, and the feeling of his friend ( _boyfriend_ , Wally mentally corrected) bundled in his arms.

Idly, he wondered how screwed they’d be when Bruce inevitably found out that the two of them had fooled around on his boat. But for now, he simply wanted to carve this moment into his memories: the two of them, warm and happy with the knowledge that countless more warm and happy moments lay ahead of them.


	9. In which Wally and Dick turn into one of those gross PDA couples

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...So it's been a while. I've always intended to finally (finally) finish this off, and with Young Justice s3 being a thing that will actually happen, I figured now was as good a time as any.
> 
> Enjoy? :)))

The changes were small, almost unnoticeable. Most of it was subtle, like their frequent, lingering touches on the arm or waist, or the secret whispered words spoken directly into the other’s ear. Some of it was more blatant, like when Wally officially changed Dick’s display name on his phone to The Boyf. (Wally also changed his ringtone for Dick to the chorus of Baby Got Back, which seemed to amuse literally no one else but him.)

There was also the matter of the new arrangement of their dorm furniture.

“Not discreet at all,” Artemis dryly remarked as she surveyed the room from the opened doorway. Her eyes remained trained onto the center of the floor, where Wally and Dick’s two beds now sat side-by-side, combining to form a single king-sized bed.

“Being discreet isn’t really the point,” Wally said before flopping his body across the width of the joined beds, sinking into a cocoon of blankets and pillows.

In the dining hall, Roy caught the two of them holding hands beneath the table and scrunched his nose in sheer revulsion. “Gross, guys. Gross.”

Wally rolled his eyes, while Dick laughed and turned towards him to make a kissy face. Wally laid his free hand atop Dick’s face to block his advance, and then said to Roy, “Hey, we’re not that bad! Compared to a deviant like you, Dick and I are a pretty classy couple.”

“Right,” Roy replied, unimpressed. “This coming from the pair that still thinks fart jokes are comedy gold.”

“Exactly. Get on our level, Harper.”

“Thanks, but I’d rather stay on my own level.” Roy grabbed his bag from his chair and slung the strap onto his shoulder. “I’m gonna head out. Who knows, your cooties might be contagious.”

Wally stuck his tongue out at Roy, who left their table with a smug smirk and a single wave of his hand. Under the table, Wally felt Dick squeeze his fingers in a bid for his attention. Dick’s eyes shone with a mischievous gleam; Wally thought he might get lost in them, if he wasn’t careful.

“Do you think he’s right?” Dick asked. “Are we turning into one of those annoying, touchy-feely couples?”

Wally shrugged. “Eh. Even if we are, so what? It’s a free country.”

“True.” Dick made another kissy face at him and Wally laughed loudly enough to draw stares from those nearby. There was a fluttering in his chest, one that he now felt on a near-constant basis. Wally wondered if that feeling had been hiding somewhere within him all this time, buried just deeply enough to escape his notice. Or maybe it hadn’t been hiding at all, and he had just been too dense to recognize it. If Wally were honest with himself, it was probably the latter.

Dick managed to steal a kiss on the cheek, and then teasingly winked at him upon retreat. Wally grimaced in mock disgust. “I feel violated,” he said, as he pretended to rub the kiss off with the back of his hand.

“Sorry, but I couldn’t resist. You’re just too attractive.”

“You bet your ass I am.”

“Yeah, I did. Back on the yacht. Remember?”

Wally sputtered something unintelligible, the blood rushing straight to his neck and cheeks. That was a memory he was unlikely to forget anytime soon.

Dick laughed into the palm of his hand. When it was soft like this, his laughter kind of sounded like hiccups. Wally had to admit, it was pretty cute. “Geez, Walls,” Dick said between laughs. “Making you blush is way too easy.”

“Yeah, yeah, heckle me while you still can, jerk.”

“Aww. You know I do it out of love.”

Even when said as a joke, something about the word “love” sent an excited tingling through Wally’s chest. His smile, which had been plastered to his lips throughout their whole conversation, gained a nervous edge as a certain thought slipped its way into his mind.

“Hey,” Wally said. He then cleared his throat in an attempt to rid himself of the budding anxiety in his chest. “There’s something I’ve been wondering about.”

“Hmm?” Dick hummed, his mouth still curved in a playful smile. He untangled his hand from Wally’s and folded his arms onto the table in front of him, creating a nest of sorts for his head to rest upon.

Wally curled his own hands into fists to keep from fidgeting. “I was thinking about the past couple weeks and trying to figure out the exact moment when I realized that my feelings for you are … well, what they are now. For a while, I thought it might’ve been at that nightclub, you know, after everything that happened there. But the more I think about it, the more I feel like I wasn’t really sure of anything until the night afterwards, when we were studying in the library. I remember drifting off to sleep and feeling you kiss me on the forehead.” Wally could feel himself blushing once more, but in a rare show of restraint, Dick chose not to comment on it. Stammering, Wally continued, “A-Anyway, that was my ‘aha’ moment. And I guess I’ve been wondering when yours was? Cause I get the feeling you figured it out way before my dumb ass did.”

When he finally finished speaking, Dick’s smile seemed more subdued, his muscles drawn a little too tense at the corners. He sat a little straighter in his chair and set his chin atop the palm of his propped hand. “It’s hard for me to say when. I don’t really remember anymore. If I had to guess, maybe the night we snuck out on my sixteenth birthday and drove out to the coast. Probably around then.”

“Dude,” Wally said, his eyes growing larger with every passing moment. “That was, like, years ago.”

“Well, like I said, I don’t really remember. It’s been a while.”

Dick gave him a casual shrug, as though he were speaking of something far more mundane and frivolous than the secret crush he had been harboring since high school. Wally could hear his own pounding heartbeat, which drummed in his ears like an admonishment. Quietly, Wally said, “You should’ve told me.”

“Should I have? Seriously? Come on, Walls. Do you really think you would’ve accepted it so easily if I had told you outright? Especially back in high school?”

“I mean, maybe not but …. I dunno. I just kinda feel like a shitty friend.”

“You’re not,” Dick replied. “It’s not like you knew. And it might’ve taken a while, but it all turned out okay in the end.” Due to the warmth in his gaze or his unwavering tone or some other magical Graysonian quality that he couldn’t quite pinpoint, Wally intrinsically knew that he meant every word he said. Dick’s smile transformed into the lopsided curve of a smirk as he added, “Besides, you were worth the wait.”

Wally could sense another blush incoming, as inevitable as the crashing of a wave. “God. And how many times have you used _that_ line?”

Dick’s eyes trailed downwards, as though he were giving his question serious thought. “Believe it or not, I think that was a first. Guess I was saving it for a special occasion.”

“Uh huh. Sure.”

“So, did it work? Are you swooning yet?”

“Please. You’re gonna have to try a lot harder than that.”

Dick sighed, as if exasperated, although there was a weightlessness to the sound that betrayed his amusement. “Darn. What a high maintenance boyfriend you’re turning out to be.”

Wally didn’t respond with a witty quip; his brain was too preoccupied obsessing over his newly minted “boyfriend” label to think of anything clever. Privately, Wally added “casually referring to each other as boyfriends” to his growing mental list of Things That Are Slightly Different Now.

Dick stood up with a yawn. “Ready to go?” he asked, offering an outstretched hand.

Wally grinned and allowed Dick to help pull him to his feet. “Heck yeah.”

The two of them exited, hand in hand. They still had a lot to figure out between them, but even so, Wally had the feeling they’d be alright. After all, they had plenty of time, and best of all, they had each other.


End file.
